Ecuadorian City is Scene of New Gang-Related Massacre

Crime scene in Nueva Prosperina, Guayaquil, March 6, 2025. X/ @PulsoLatam

March 7, 2025 Hour: 8:57 am

‘Nueva Prosperina is a battlefield, leaving defenseless neighbors caught in the middle,’ Guayaquil Major Alvarez said.

On Thursday, a conflict between Ecuadorian criminal gangs left at least 22 people dead and three injured in a new massacre recorded in Guayaquil.

The killings took place around 3:00 PM local time in different parts of the Nueva Prosperina district, located on the outskirts of Guayaquil, the most populous city in this Andean country.

Currently, Ecuador is experiencing a severe security and violence crisis caused by the institutional destruction generated by right-wing governments over the past seven years. President Daniel Noboa has not managed to reverse the situation, despite promising to do so during his 2023 election campaign.

“The situation in Nueva Prosperina is barbaric. In a single afternoon, 25 people were murdered in a series of coordinated attacks in Socio Vivienda 2 and other areas. At least 20 hitmen, armed with rifles and 9mm pistols, roamed the streets executing people in cold blood,” said Guayaquil Mayor Aquiles Alvarez.

⚫ Se exterminan entre bandas delincuenciales en Guayaquil.

Hasta el momento, hay 14 aprehendidos, sospechosos de la masacre que dejó 22 muertos y al menos 3 heridos en los sectores de Socio Vivienda y la Casuarina, en el noroeste de Guayaquil.

El Bloque de Seguridad instauró… pic.twitter.com/FcWR47wSI7
— ® Urgencia Ec (@UrgenciaEcu) March 7, 2025

The text reads, “Criminal gangs are exterminating each other in Guayaquil. So far, 14 suspects have been arrested in the massacre that left 22 dead and at least 3 injured in the Socio Vivienda and Casuarina sectors in the northwest of Guayaquil. The Security Block established a 5-point checkpoint in Socio Vivienda.”

“Nueva Prosperina is a battlefield, leaving defenseless neighbors caught in the middle. They now live in fear. The numbers are terrifying: 180 violent deaths in this district so far this year. A number that only continues to grow, showing that the situation is not under control,” he added.

“Where are we headed as a society? How did we reach this level of disconnection from reality? Enough with the smoke screens while the mafias continue to do whatever they want,” Alvarez said, alluding to the actions of the Noboa administration to justify its inability to control the situation.

Preliminarily, the police attributed the massacre to a conflict between two factions of the criminal gang Los Tiguerones, who are vying for supremacy within the organization and control over different areas of the city.

"Noboa’s presidency has had devastating consequences for Ecuador. His policies have exacerbated labour insecurity, commercial liberalization, and financial deregulation, driving the country’s public debt to 67% of GDP, up from 38% in 2016."https://t.co/4TBwqgDKHH
— Labour Friends of Progressive Latin America (@labourfplam) March 1, 2025

According to witnesses, the attackers entered the sector through the slopes of the mountains surrounding the neighborhood to avoid the military control at the main entrance. Some of the deceased and injured individuals had prior records for robbery, drug trafficking, and illegal possession of weapons.

Currently, Guayaquil is under a “State of Emergency.” Since early 2024, Noboa has been issuing consecutive states of emergency in an attempt to combat criminal gangs as part of a so-called “internal armed conflict.”

Since 2023, however, Ecuador has had the highest homicide rate in Latin America. So far this year, authorities have acknowledged an average of approximately one murder per hour.

The surge in criminal violence highlights the failure of Noboa’s security plan, as he seeks re-election in the second round of voting on April 13. On that date, he will face the Citizen Revolution’s presidential candidate, Luisa Gonzalez, a progressive lawyer who remains the frontrunner to win the presidency.