The Minister of the Interior, Juan Zapata, explained that the attack occurred around the morning in a fishing port where there were between 1,500 and 2,000 people. The Armed Forces are looking for those responsible.

Nine people were killed this Tuesday in Ecuador by some thirty armed attackers who arrived in boats and cars at a port for artisanal fishermen in the northern province of Esmeraldas, on the border with Colombia, the Prosecutor's Office reported.

"7 corpses were removed from the Artisanal Fishing Port of the canton (Esmeraldas) and 2 more in a nearby health center" and all "were transferred to the Forensic Center," the Prosecutor's Office said on its Twitter account.

Interior Minister Juan Zapata explained that the attack occurred around 09:00 local time (14:00 GMT) in a fishing port where there were between 1,500 and 2,000 people.

According to the Interior Minister, the attack occurred because the fishermen "preferred the safety" of one of the organized gangs "and in retaliation" a rival group opened fire.

According to Zapata, the attackers arrived at the port in two boats and an unknown number of cars.

One of the taxis in which they were traveling was abandoned at the port, the Prosecutor's Office said in another tweet.

The armed attack occurred in the midst of a state of emergency decreed by President Guillermo Lasso on March 3 to mitigate the high rates of violence and crime in the impoverished province of Esmeraldas.

Sandwiched between Colombia and Peru - the world's top cocaine producers - Ecuador faces rising drug trafficking and violent deaths.

In the nation, the homicide rate almost doubled in the last year, going from 14 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2021 to 25 in 2022.

Source: https://www.ambito.com/mundo/masacre-ecuador-hombres-armados-llegaron-lancha-un-puerto-y-mataron-9-personas-n5695897