Ecuadoran Soccer Player Jonathan Gonzalez Killed in Esmeraldas Shooting

Ecuadoran footballer Jonathan Gonzalez, 31, was fatally shot on Friday, marking the third killing of an athlete in the country since the start of September, police reported.

Nicknamed "Speedy" Gonzalez, he was attacked inside a residence in Esmeraldas, a coastal province bordering Colombia and notorious for violence linked to rival drug gangs. Authorities confirmed Gonzalez suffered gunshot wounds. A second, unidentified victim died while being transported to a hospital. The motive behind the attack has not been disclosed.

Ecuador, situated between Colombia and Peru—the world’s largest cocaine producers—has become a major transit point for roughly 70 percent of the global cocaine supply. The influx of organized gangs has driven the country’s homicide rate from six per 100,000 in 2018 to a record high of 47 in 2023, before slightly falling to 38 last year.

Earlier this month, two players from second-division side Exapromo Costa FC, Maicol Valencia and Leandro Yepez, were shot during an armed assault in Manta, a southwestern coastal city. Valencia died at the scene, while Yepez succumbed to his injuries two days later. The club stated the attack was aimed at another target, and the players were unintended victims.

Jonathan Gonzalez, who played for second-division team 22 de Julio FC, previously had stints with Olimpia in Paraguay and Leon in Mexico.