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Ecuador: Six Dead in Armed Attack on Beach

Published December 29, 2025, 05:09
Ecuador: Six Dead in Armed Attack on Beach

Six people – including a two-year-old girl – were killed and three others injured when armed men opened fire on people gathered on a beach in the city of Puerto López, in southwestern Ecuador, police reported. The massacre took place in Puerto López, in the province of Manabí, a popular destination for whale watching, amid a wave of violence this weekend that left a total of nine dead there, according to Ecuadorian media. The attack on the beach promenade resulted in “six people dead and three others injured,” William Acuña, head of police in the area, told the media. Among the dead was a girl “about two years old,” the officer added. Once an oasis of peace and tranquility in Latin America, Ecuador, located between the two countries that produce the largest amounts of cocaine in the world, Colombia and Peru, is experiencing an unprecedented surge in violence due to clashes between gangs linked to Mexican and Colombian cartels.