{"id":93653,"date":"2025-04-20T03:59:25","date_gmt":"2025-04-20T03:59:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/20\/arrests-after-12-shot-dead-at-ecuador-cockfight\/"},"modified":"2025-04-20T03:59:25","modified_gmt":"2025-04-20T03:59:25","slug":"arrests-after-12-shot-dead-at-ecuador-cockfight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/20\/arrests-after-12-shot-dead-at-ecuador-cockfight\/","title":{"rendered":"Arrests after 12 shot dead at Ecuador cockfight"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\"AFPAFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A cockfight in Ecuador. File photo<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
\n

Police in Ecuador say they have arrested four people in connection with an attack by gunmen at a cockfighting ring in which 12 people died. <\/p>\n

Weapons and replica police and army uniforms were seized during police raids in the north-western Manab\u00ed province on Friday – a day after the attack in the rural community of La Valencia.<\/p>\n

Footage of the attack shared on social media showed gunmen entering the ring and opening fire, as terrified spectators dived for cover.<\/p>\n

Reports in local media suggested the attackers in fake military gear were members of a criminal gang whose rivals were at the cockfight.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

A criminal investigation has been launched by the provincial authorities.<\/p>\n

As many as 20 criminal gangs are believed to be operating in the Latin American country, vying for control over major drug routes. <\/p>\n

Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa has said that about 70% of the world’s cocaine now flows through Ecuador’s ports before being shipped to the US and Europe.<\/p>\n

The drug is smuggled into Ecuador from neighbouring Colombia and Peru \u2013 the world’s two largest producers of cocaine.<\/p>\n

This January saw 781 murders, making it the deadliest month in recent years. Many of them were related to the illegal drug trade.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n