Footballer Gonzalez killed in Ecuador

Gunmen have killed Ecuadoran footballer Jonathan Gonzalez in the South American country.

Police confirmed the footballer’s killing on Saturday, saying Gonzalez was killed on Friday.

His killing marks the third murder of a footballer in Ecuador since the start of September.

Authorities said the 31-year-old player, nicknamed “Speedy” Gonzalez, suffered “gunshot wounds” in an attack inside a house in the coastal province of Esmeraldas, which borders Colombia and is plagued by rival drug gangs.

Police did not specify a motive for the crime.

A second victim, who was not identified, died while being rushed to the hospital.

Ecuador is nestled between the world’s biggest cocaine producers, Colombia and Peru, and has become the departure point for 70 per cent of the world’s supply of the drug.

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With an influx of gangs, the homicide rate rose from six per 100,000 people in 2018 to a record high of 47 in 2023, before dipping to 38 last year, AFP reported.

Two players from the second-division team Exapromo Costa FC, Maicol Valencia and Leandro Yepez, were shot in an armed assault in the southwestern coastal city of Manta on September 10.

Valencia died in the gunfire, while Yepez succumbed to his injuries two days later.

The club said the players were victims of an attack directed at another target.

A player for the second-division team 22 de Julio FC, Jonathan Gonzalez previously played to Olimpia in Paraguay and Leon in Mexico.

The Ecuadorian Football Federation and local clubs expressed condolences to the footballer’s family.

The Star