An Ecuadorian professional footballer was killed yesterday Friday in an armed attack, raising to three the number of soccer players killed since the beginning of September, according to the country’s police. Playing for the team July 22 (Second Division), Jonathan González31 years old and former player of the Olympia of Paraguay and the Lion of Mexico, suffered gunshot wounds, police reported. A second victim, whose identity has not been revealed, died while being transferred to the hospital.
The attack occurred in a home in the coastal province of Esmeraldas, bordering Colombia, affected by clashes between drug trafficking bands. A total of three players have been killed in September due to violence.
On September 10, Maicol Valencia and Leandro Yépez, players of the Exaprome Costa de Second Division team, were killed in an armed attack in the coastal city of Manta, to the southwest of the country. According to the club, the players were collateral victims, since they were not the goal of the attack.
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In Ecuador, homicides increased from 6 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2018 to 38 in 2024, with a record of 47 in 2023. The country was considered a safe refuge between Colombia and Peru, the world’s largest cocaine producers in the world.
