Ecuadoran soccer player Jonathan Gonzalez was tragically killed on Friday, marking the third murder of an athlete in the South American nation since September began, as reported by police.
Authorities revealed that the 31-year-old, known as “Speedy” Gonzalez, sustained “gunshot wounds” during an assault inside a residence in the coastal province of Esmeraldas, which shares a border with Colombia and is troubled by competing drug gangs.
Police have not disclosed a motive for this crime.
A second victim, whose identity remains unknown, succumbed to injuries while being transported to the hospital.
Ecuador is situated between the world’s largest cocaine producers, Colombia and Peru, and has become a key departure point for 70 percent of the global supply of the drug.
With the rise of gangs, the homicide rate surged from six per 100,000 people in 2018 to an alarming high of 47 in 2023, before slightly decreasing to 38 last year.
On September 10, in the southwestern coastal city of Manta, two players from the second-division team Exapromo Costa FC, Maicol Valencia and Leandro Yepez, were shot during an armed assault.
Valencia lost his life in the shooting, while Yepez passed away from his injuries two days later.
The club stated that the players were targeted in an attack meant for someone else.
Jonathan Gonzalez, a player for the second-division team 22 de Julio FC, had previously played for Olimpia in Paraguay and Leon in Mexico.
The Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF) along with local clubs extended their condolences to the family of the footballer.
