At least nine people were shot dead on Saturday at a pool bar in General Villamil Playas, a coastal tourist city in southwestern Ecuador, according to the country’s prosecutor’s office.

The attack occurred when a group of armed men stormed a bar in a working-class neighborhood of the city, located in Guayas province, and opened fire on patrons.

“Armed individuals entered the establishment and shot at those present,” the prosecutor’s office confirmed via social media platform X.

Graphic images shared online showed bloodied bodies sprawled around pool tables, with bullet holes clearly visible on the furniture. Eyewitness accounts and local media reported that the assailants were carrying automatic rifles.

Later that evening, grieving relatives gathered at the crime scene with coffins, mourning the victims of what has been described as a massacre.

Police Colonel Jhanon Varela said two people were injured in the attack and are receiving treatment at a local hospital. Authorities were able to formally identify only one of the victims at the scene.

“Unfortunately, when police arrived, many of the victims had already been removed by residents and family members,” Varela said. “It’s possible there are additional casualties.”

'We Will Not Surrender'

Among the victims was a football coach affiliated with a provincial youth training school, according to Guayas Prefect Marcela Aguinaga.

“Violence tries to break us, to silence us, to normalize horror,” Aguinaga wrote on X. “But we will not remain silent. Nor will we surrender.”

The mass shooting underscores the worsening security crisis in Ecuador, which is experiencing one of its most violent years on record. From January to May 2025, the country recorded 4,051 homicides, according to official statistics.

Once regarded as a peaceful nation in Latin America, Ecuador has become a battleground for drug trafficking organizations that exploit its coastal ports to export narcotics to the U.S. and Europe. The country’s homicide rate has soared from six per 100,000 residents in 2018 to 38 in 2024.

Despite the June recapture of Ecuador’s most notorious drug lord, Adolfo Macías — also known as “Fito” — gang violence has shown no signs of abating. Fito, the leader of the Los Choneros gang, had escaped from a maximum-security prison earlier in 2024.

This week alone, at least 20 people were killed in a series of violent incidents in Manabí province, including the port city of Manta, Fito’s stronghold and the site of his recent recapture.

On Saturday afternoon, Interior Minister John Reimberg announced the deployment of 2,500 police officers across Manta to bolster security.

Following his arrest, Fito agreed to be extradited to the United States, where he faces charges related to cocaine and weapons trafficking.