9 Dead in Armed Attack on Ecuadorian Fishing Port

On Tuesday, at least nine people were killed in an armed attack on a small fishing port in the northwest Ecuadorian province of Esmeraldas, on the border with Colombia.

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Authorities recovered seven corpses at the scene and two more from a nearby hospital, and took them to a forensic center, the State Attorney General's Office (FGE) said, adding it was investigating "to find those responsible for this crime."

A group of assailants armed with pistols and rifles arrived at the port in the morning, and began shooting at merchants and employees working at the warehouse before fleeing the scene.

Interior Minister Juan Zapata told news website Primicias the attack was carried out by 30 assailants, and at least four people were injured in the incident.

The tweet reads, "Everything that is known about the massacre at the Esmeraldas Fishing Port."

Investigation is underway into whether organized crime groups were behind the attack. Meanwhile, the military said it would support the police in their "search by air and land for those involved in the shooting."

President Guillermo Lasso declared a state of emergency in Esmeraldas in March, which is still in place, due to rising crime and violence. The shooting in the fishing port took place at a time when cases of murder, assaults and extortion resound daily in various cities.

Since Lasso assumed the presidency in 2019, the reduction of the budget has resulted in increased insecurity and the consolidation of criminal groups linked to drug trafficking. Currently, Congress is processing an impeachment against Lasso, who has been accused of embezzlement and links to the Albanian mafia.