Ecuador international defender Mario Pineida has been shot dead in Guayaquil at the age of 33. The Barcelona SC player was attacked on Wednesday by two gunmen on motorbikes who opened fire on him, his mother and another woman outside a shop in the Samanes district in the north of the city.
A second person was also killed in the attack, while a third victim was wounded. Ecuador's Interior Ministry confirmed Pineida's death and has deployed a special police unit to investigate the incident.
A Career Cut Tragically Short
Pineida earned nine caps for Ecuador between 2014 and 2021, featuring in World Cup qualifying campaigns for both the 2018 and 2022 tournaments. His last appearance for La Tri came at the 2021 Copa América, when he entered as a late substitute against Brazil in the group stage. He had also represented his country at the 2017 edition of the continental competition.
At club level, Pineida began his career at Independiente del Valle, where he spent five years from 2010 to 2015. He then joined Barcelona SC in Guayaquil in 2016 and went on to win two Ecuadorian league titles with the club over a nine-year spell. The defender also had loan stints at Brazilian giants Fluminense in 2022 and Ecuadorian club El Nacional.
Football World in Mourning
Barcelona SC expressed their grief in a statement: "This unfortunate news makes all of us who are part of this institution deeply dismayed." The club added that its fans are "saddened" by the loss of their player.
Former clubs Independiente del Valle and Fluminense also paid tribute to Pineida on social media. The Ecuadorian Football Federation condemned the violence and extended condolences to Pineida's family.
Ecuador's Escalating Violence Crisis
Pineida's death is the latest in a disturbing pattern of violence targeting footballers in Ecuador. The country, once considered one of Latin America's safest nations, has become a major transit hub for cocaine trafficking between Colombia, Peru and international markets.
Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city and main commercial hub, has been hit hardest by gang-related violence. The port city recorded 1,900 murders between January and September 2025 – the highest figure of any region in Ecuador. The country is on track for its most violent year on record, with over 9,000 homicides expected, according to the Ecuadorian Observatory of Organized Crime.
A Grim Pattern
Pineida is not the first footballer to fall victim to Ecuador's violence crisis:
- In November 2025, a 16-year-old Independiente del Valle player was killed by a stray bullet in Guayaquil
- In September 2025, three second-division players – Maicol Valencia and Leandro Yépez of Exapromo Costa, and Jonathan González of 22 de Junio – were killed in separate shooting incidents
- In October 2025, local player Bryan Angula survived a shooting but sustained injuries
President Daniel Noboa has pledged to fight criminal organizations that have expanded their operations in Ecuadorian territory in connection with international drug cartels, but the wave of violence shows no signs of abating.
