Third footballer murdered in Ecuador this September

Ecuadorian footballer Jonathan Gonzalez lost his life on Friday, marking the third killing of a sportsman in this South American nation since early September, police reports indicate.

Officials reported that the 31 year old, known as "Speedy" Gonzalez, sustained gunshot injuries during an assault within a home in the coastal area of Esmeraldas, a region neighbouring Colombia and troubled by competing narcotics organisations.

Police offered no details on the reason for the offence.

An unnamed second casualty perished while en route to medical treatment.

Ecuador lies between the primary cocaine producing countries, Colombia and Peru, and now serves as the origin for 70 per cent of the global cocaine trade.

Gang influx has driven the murder rate up from six per 100,000 inhabitants in 2018 to a peak of 47 in 2023, then down to 38 in the prior year.

On 10 September, two members of the second tier club Exapromo Costa FC, Maicol Valencia and Leandro Yepez, were shot in a violent raid in the south western coastal town of Manta.

Valencia died amid the exchange of fire, while Yepez passed away from his wounds two days afterwards.

The club stated that the players were unintended victims of an attack meant for someone else.

Jonathan Gonzalez, who played for the second division outfit 22 de Julio FC, had previously featured for Olimpia in Paraguay and Leon in Mexico.

The Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF) and various local teams conveyed their sympathies to the athlete's relatives.