GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador, Feb 18, (V7N) – A wave of violent clashes between rival criminal groups left 14 people dead over the weekend in Ecuador’s port city of Guayaquil, police reported on Monday. The city remains at the center of an escalating power struggle between drug-trafficking gangs.

One of the deadliest incidents occurred when gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on a crowd outside a grocery store, killing a minor and six adults. Police chief Santiago Tuston warned of potential "reprisals" in the aftermath of the massacre.

Videos circulating on social media showed harrowing scenes of bodies lying in the streets of northern Guayaquil. While the exact motive behind the attack was not disclosed, Tuston confirmed that the weekend’s violence had resulted in a total of 14 fatalities across the city.

Guayaquil, the capital of Guayas province, has been under a state of emergency since January as authorities struggle to contain an explosion of violence in what was once a relatively peaceful nation.

Ecuador, wedged between the world's largest cocaine producers, Peru and Colombia, is home to around 20 criminal gangs involved in drug trafficking, extortion, and kidnappings. In recent years, transnational cartels have turned Ecuador’s ports—particularly Guayaquil—into key hubs for smuggling narcotics to the U.S. and Europe.

The country’s homicide rate has skyrocketed, rising from six per 100,000 inhabitants in 2018 to a record 47 in 2023. Under President Daniel Noboa’s state of emergency and military crackdown, which began after he took office in November 2023, the rate dropped to 38 per 100,000 last year.

The violence continued last Friday when a police colonel, known for leading anti-drug operations, was assassinated in another part of the port city.

Noboa, who is seeking reelection, faces a runoff in April against challenger Luisa Gonzalez after a tight first-round vote last Sunday. Over the weekend, he reshuffled his security leadership, replacing the interior minister with retired police general Fausto Buenano, a seasoned figure in the fight against drug cartels.