Ecuadorian police reported on Wednesday night, December 17, that Mario Pineida, the 33-year-old defender for Barcelona SC de Guayaquil, was fatally shot in what authorities described as an apparent attack amid rising violence in the country.
Another individual, whose identity has not been released, was also killed, and a third person sustained injuries during the incident.
The Ecuadorian Interior Ministry confirmed Pineida’s death but did not provide further details. In response, Barcelona SC issued a statement expressing the grief of the club and its supporters over the defender’s passing.
Pineida began his professional football career with Independiente del Valle, playing there from 2010 until 2015. In 2016, he joined Barcelona SC in Guayaquil, where he won two league titles. The defender also had a short stint at Brazil’s Fluminense in 2022 and spent time on loan with El Nacional.
He earned nine caps for Ecuador between 2014 and 2021.
Ecuadorian media reported that the attack occurred in the Samanes area in northern Guayaquil, located roughly 265 kilometers (165 miles) southwest of the capital, Quito.
Earlier this year, the country experienced similar violent incidents, including a shooting involving a local player in October.
Following Pineida’s death, both Independiente del Valle and Fluminense paid tribute to the defender on social media. Barcelona SC stated, “this unfortunate news makes all of us who are part of this institution deeply dismayed.”
The Ecuadorian Football Federation condemned the violence and extended condolences to Pineida’s family.
Ecuador is expected to have its most violent year on record with more than 9,000 homicides, according to the Ecuadorian Observatory of Organized Crime. That figure was at 7,063 violent deaths last year and a then-record 8,248 in 2023.
President Daniel Noboa has pledged to fight criminal organizations that have expanded their operations in Ecuadorian territory in connection with international drug cartels.
In November, a 16-year-old footballer of Independiente del Valle died from a stray bullet, also in Guayaquil. Two months earlier, Maicol Valencia and Leandro Yépez, both players of Exapromo Costa, and Jonathan González, of 22 de Junio died from gunshot wounds.
