Ecuadorian international football player Mario Pineida was shot and killed on Wednesday in the port city of Guayaquil, his club, Barcelona SC, announced. Pineida, a 33-year-old defender, played with the Ecuador team in the qualifiers for the Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 World Cups. He was Ecuador champion in 2016 with Barcelona, and also played for the Brazilian club Fluminense.
Ecuador’s Interior Ministry confirmed the incident, adding that a special police unit was “working on the case.” According to the Primicias news site, Pineida was shot dead by two people traveling on a motorcycle, who also shot the player’s mother and another woman, who it is not known if they were hit. Barcelona SC asked its supporters, on the social network
Fluminense Football Club received with deep regret the news of the death of Mario Pineida, an athlete who played for the club in 2022.
Pineida arrived at Tricolor at the beginning of the season in which we became Rio champions together. Fluminense expresses solidarity with… pic.twitter.com/c4H19edKHm
— Fluminense FC (@FluminenseFC) December 17, 2025
Long considered a haven of peace in Latin America, Ecuador has been hit in recent years by a spectacular outbreak of violence, with rival gangs linked to Mexican and Colombian cartels vying for control of drug trafficking.
The port of Guayaquil, one of the exit points for cocaine produced in neighboring countries, Colombia and Peru, is particularly affected by this war between criminal organizations.
