{"id":5839,"date":"2025-12-18T12:08:47","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T12:08:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=5839"},"modified":"2025-12-18T12:08:47","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T12:08:47","slug":"former-football-star-mario-pineida-killed-as-violence-escalates-in-ecuador-football-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=5839","title":{"rendered":"Former football star Mario Pineida killed as violence escalates in Ecuador | Football News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>Former Fluminense star Mario Pineida is killed in attack as Ecuadorian president responds to most violent year in history.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 18 Dec 2025<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">18 Dec 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Ecuadorian police have said that Mario Pineida, a 33-year-old Barcelona de Guayaquil defender and former national team player, was shot dead in an apparent attack as violence escalates in the Andean nation.<\/p>\n<p>Another person who police did not identify was also killed in the incident on Wednesday, and a third was wounded.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>Ecuador\u2019s interior ministry confirmed Pineida\u2019s death without providing details. Barcelona de Guayaquil said in a statement that its fans are saddened by Pineida\u2019s death.<\/p>\n<p>Pineida played eight games for Ecuador, including qualifying for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, but was not involved in the team qualifying for the 2026 edition.<\/p>\n<p>His last game for Ecuador was at the 2021 Copa America, as a late substitute in a group-stage game against Brazil. He also went to the 2017 edition.<\/p>\n<p>Pineida started his professional career at Independiente del Valle, where he played from 2010 to 2015. He then moved to the club of the coastal city of Guayaquil in 2016 and won two league titles there. The defender also had a brief spell at Brazil\u2019s Fluminense in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Ecuadorian media reported the incident took place in the region of Samanes in the north end of Guayaquil, which lies 265 kilometres (165 miles) southwest of the capital, Quito.<\/p>\n<p>Digital news outlet Primicias reported Pineida was attacked by two people riding motorcycles, who opened fire on him, his mother and another woman.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4182035\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4182035\" style=\"width:770px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-4182035 size-arc-image-770\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2021-09-30T004239Z_2008419940_HP1EH9U01Z01S_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-LIBERTADORES-BNA-FLA-REPORT-1766053398.jpg?resize=770%2C563&amp;quality=80\" alt=\"Ecuador's Mario Pineida playing for Barcelona\" fetchpriority=\"low\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4182035\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mario Pineida in action for Barcelona de Guayaquil in the semifinal of the 2021 Copa Libertadores [Franklin Jacome\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Ecuador, once one of Latin America\u2019s safest countries, has become a key cocaine transit hub between top producers Colombia and Peru, and consumers around the world.<\/p>\n<p>Guayaquil has become a hotspot for gang violence linked to drug trafficking and several football players in Ecuador have been targeted in recent months.<\/p>\n<p>Car bombings, shootings and extortion have been on the rise in the region, which recorded 1,900 murders between January and September \u2013 the highest toll in Ecuador.<\/p>\n<p>Ecuador is expected to have its most violent year on record with more than 9,000 homicides, according to the Ecuadorian Observatory of Organized Crime. That figure was at 7,063 violent deaths last year and a then-record 8,248 in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>President Daniel Noboa has pledged to fight criminal organisations that have expanded their operations in Ecuadorian territory in connection with international drug cartels.<\/p>\n<p>In November, a 16-year-old footballer of Independiente del Valle died from a stray bullet, also in Guayaquil.<\/p>\n<p>Two months earlier, three players from Ecuador\u2019s second division \u2013 Maicol Valencia and Leandro Yepez, both players of Exapromo Costa, and Jonathan Gonzalez, of 22 de Junio \u2013 died from gunshot wounds.<\/p>\n<p>In October, local footballer Bryan Angula was wounded in a shooting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former Fluminense star Mario Pineida is killed in attack as Ecuadorian president responds to most violent year in history. Published On 18 Dec 202518 Dec 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Ecuadorian police have said that Mario Pineida, a 33-year-old Barcelona de Guayaquil defender and former national team player, was shot [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5840,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latin-america-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5839","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5839"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5839\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}