Quito: Ecuadorian footballer Mario Pineida was shot dead in the port city of Guayaquil on Wednesday, his club announced.

Guayaquil has turned into a focal point for gang violence tied to drug trafficking, with several Ecuadorian footballers targeted in recent months.

Pineida, 33, featured for Ecuador's national side in the 2018 and 2022 World Cup qualifiers but missed selection for the 2022 finals in Qatar. He also turned out for Fluminense in 2022.

In a post on X, his team, Barcelona SC, stated it "regrets to inform, with deep sorrow, that it has been officially notified of the death of our player Mario Pineida, an event that occurred following an attack against him" in Guayaquil.

The interior ministry verified Pineida's death and deployed a specialised police team to investigate.

Digital outlet Primicias reported that Pineida came under fire from two assailants on motorcycles, who also shot his mother and another woman.

In September, three players from Ecuador's second division lost their lives, one reportedly connected to sports betting. A month later, local player Bryan Angula survived a shooting.

Ecuador, previously among Latin America's safest nations, has emerged as a major cocaine transit point between leading producers Colombia and Peru and global markets.

Car bombings, shootings, and extortion have surged in Guayaquil, which logged 1,900 murders from January to September—the nation's highest figure.

With inputs from ANI