By Gangsters Inc. Editors
Ecuador's fall into chaos continues. Last week, incidents increased. Brutal attacks left 14 dead and 17 injured, some showing signs of torture. Also: A judge was shot and killed while dropping his children off at school and a professional football player was shot in the foot. All of this is a bloody reminder that this once stable nation has become a battleground for criminal syndicates.
The violence began last week, Sunday evening, in Guayaquil, Ecuadorthe largest city in. Around 11 p.m., a group of armed men traveling on motorcycles and vans opened fire on a neighborhood football match. Six people were killed instantly, while 17 others, including three minors, were injured.
Police identified the attackers as members of Los Freddy Kruegers or “Freddy Kruger.” ganga local outfit known for its cruelty.
A few hours later, police in Buena Fe, a town in the province of Los Ríos, made a gruesome discovery: eight bodies, four men and four women, thrown together. Their hands were bound with duct tape and their heads wrapped in black plastic bags. Investigators said the victims showed clear signs of torture. Local reports suggest they were part of a group of twelve people from Quito; four other people, including an older woman and three girls, are still missing.
Cocaine carnage
These killings are the latest in a wave of carnage sweeping Ecuador. According to the Ecuadorian Organized Crime Observatory, the country recorded more than 4,600 homicides in the first half of 2025, a staggering 47% increase compared to last year.
Ecuador's geography has become its curse. Stuck between Colombia And Peruthe top of the world cocaine producers, it has become a key transit hub for drug trafficking to the United States and Europe. As a result, around 20 major criminal organizations now operate across the country, engaging in extortion, contract killings and turf wars.
Government crackdowns have done little to slow the bloodshed. In prisons, dominated and largely run by gangs, riots regularly turn into massacres. Last month, 17 inmates were killed in one such riot, many of them beheaded or mutilated. A few days earlier, another prison clash left 13 people and a guard dead, victims of a war between rival factions Los Choneros and Los Lobos.
At the center of this conflict is José Adolfo “Fito” Macías Villamarthe infamous boss of Los Choneros. After serving a 34-year prison sentence for murder and drug trafficking, Fito escaped in 2024, only to be recaptured in June. He was extradited to the United States in July, where he faces international cocaine and firearms charges. However, its withdrawal did not help stem the violence. If anything, it made the power vacuum even more deadly.
The bloodshed did not stop.
Killing judges, shooting athletes
On Thursday, an Ecuadorian judge, Marcos Mendoza, was shot dead while dropping his children off at school in the coastal town of Montecristi, in Manabí province. Local media report that the assassins arrived on motorcycles and then fired their weapons as Mendoza got in or out of his parked car.
Mendoza was put in charge of the Blanqueo Fito case which aimed to dismantle a money laundering network allegedly led by José Adolfo Macías Villamar and Los Choneros.
He became the 15th judge or prosecutor killed since 2022, a grim figure underscoring the peril facing Ecuador's justice system. The Judges Association sentenced the killing, calling it a “shocking reminder of the vulnerability of those who serve the law.”
It seems like anyone is fair game. No matter your profession, gangsters will find you and hurt you if you don't follow their orders.
The same day, professional footballer Bryan “Cuco” Angulo was shot in the foot while training with his La Liga club Portoviejo. Two suspects were arrested. The club later revealed that several players had received death threats before an upcoming match. Authorities are investigating possible links to criminal betting networks.
Meanwhile, explosions rocked parts of Ecuador this week, following a deadly vehicle bomb attack in Guayaquil that killed one person. Interior Minister John Reimberg accused Los Lobos and dissidents from Colombia's disbanded FARC guerrillas of coordinating the attacks. A second car packed with explosives was found nearby but was successfully neutralized.
Despite deploying troops and imposing emergency measures, President Daniel Noboa has yet to stem the bloodshed. Ecuador's criminal landscape now mirrors that of Mexico or Colombia in their darkest years; a country where cartels hold more power than the state and where even judges, athletes and children are no longer safe.
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