Former Fluminense star Mario Pineida has been killed in an attack as Ecuador’s president responds to one of the most violent years on record.
Published December 18, 2025
Ecuadorian police say Mario Pineida, 33, a Barcelona de Guayaquil defender and former national team player, has been shot dead in an apparent attack, amid escalating violence in the Andean country.
Another person, whose identity has not been released by police, was also killed and a third person was injured in Wednesday’s incident.
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Ecuador’s Interior Ministry confirmed Pineida’s death without providing further details. Barcelona de Guayaquil said in a statement that their fans were saddened by Pineida’s death.
Pineida appeared in eight games for Ecuador, including qualification for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, but was not involved in the team’s qualification for the 2026 tournament.
His last match for Ecuador was in the 2021 Copa America, where he came on as a late substitute against Brazil in the group stage. I also went to the 2017 edition.
Pineida began his professional career with Independiente del Valle, where he played from 2010 to 2015. He then moved to a club in the coastal city of Guayaquil in 2016, where he won two league titles. The defender also had a short spell with Brazilian side Fluminense in 2022.
Ecuadorian media reported that the incident occurred in the Samanes region of Guayaquil’s north, 265 kilometers (165 miles) southwest of the capital Quito.
Digital news outlet Primicias reported that Pineida was attacked by two people on a motorbike who opened fire on him, his mother and another woman.
Once one of the safest countries in Latin America, Ecuador has become an important transport hub for cocaine between top producers Colombia and Peru and consumers around the world.
Guayaquil has become a hotspot for gang violence related to drug trafficking, and several Ecuadorian soccer players have been targeted in recent months.
Car bombings, shootings and extortion are on the rise in the region, with 1,900 murders recorded between January and September, the most in Ecuador.
Ecuador is expected to have its most violent year on record, with more than 9,000 murders, according to the Ecuadorian Organized Crime Monitoring Service. This figure stands at 7,063 deaths from violence last year, rising to a then-record 8,248 in 2023.
President Daniel Novoa has pledged to fight against criminal organizations linked to international drug cartels that are expanding their activities within Ecuador’s territory.
Also in Guayaquil in November, a 16-year-old soccer player for Independiente del Valle was killed by a stray bullet.
Two months ago, three players from Ecuador’s second division, Maicol Valencia and Leandro Yepes of Exapromo Costa, and Jonathan Gonzalez of 22 de Junio, were killed by gunfire.
In October, local soccer player Brian Angler was injured in a shooting.
