Massacres During Holy Week Holiday Shock Ecuador

April 1, 2024 Hour: 7:09 am

From Thursday to Sunday, residents of the provinces of Manabi and Guayas have experienced unprecedented events during Holy Week.

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On Thursday afternoon, six adults and five children arrived at Puerto Lopez beach to enjoy the Easter holiday. However, the following day, a group of about 20 heavily armed individuals kidnapped them from their hotel.

Hours later, the children and one adult were released on a highway. The other five kidnapped adults were murdered, and their bodies were abandoned in an area near the hotel.

“None of those involved had criminal records. Apparently, the kidnappers mistook them for members of a rival gang,” France 24 reported.

A day later, in Manta City in Manabi, hitmen gunned down a group of people outside a house, resulting in the deaths of four citizens, one of whom was an active-duty military member.

‼️#Atención| En Guayaquil nuevo ataque armado acabo con la vida de varias personas después de ser atacados por gatilleros en los interiores de una fiesta en el bloque 2 del Fortín creándose una masacre.�� pic.twitter.com/KGs9PLAdnQ

— ��ALERTA ECUADOR�� (@AlertaEcuador7)
April 1, 2024

The text reads, “In Guayaquil, a new armed attack ended the lives of several people after being attacked by gunmen inside a party in block 2 of the Fortín, creating a massacre.”

On Saturday, hitmen traveling in a car and a motorcycle attacked a group of people attending a volleyball game in the province of Guayas, leaving eight dead and a dozen injured.

On the following night, in Guayaquil City’s Fortin sector, several individuals on motorcycles fired at citizens gathered in the street, resulting in three dead and three injured.

In January, President Daniel Noboa declared a “State of Exception.” He stated that Ecuador was in an “Internal Armed Conflict” against criminal gangs linked to drug trafficking, which were defined as “terrorist groups.” However, these measures have not been effective so far.

“Three massacres in two days, in the midst of a state of emergency, cast doubt on the security measures taken by the Noboa administration to control crime. Despite militarization and curfews, kidnappings have increased fivefold in some cities,” France 24 commented.

“Citizens fear that violence will escalate further when the state of emergency ends on April 8. The new wave of violence is also taking place as the country prepares for a referendum on April 21, which will adress key security issues such as the support of the Armed Forces to the Police against organized crime,” it added.

#FromTheSouth News Bits | Ecuador registered in the last hours 13 new violent incidents in the city of Guayaquil during the state of emergency implemented by the government of Daniel Noboa. pic.twitter.com/LHfRUYYSRo

— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish)
March 29, 2024