Another massacre in the city of Guayaquil, in the province of Guayas in Ecuador left seven deaths, according to today's police update.

Quito.- The event occurred on Saturday night in the vicinity of a mechanic shop, where several persons were watching Barcelona’s soccer match against Técnico Universitario.

Local media reported that several people were injured and the death toll could increase in the next hours.

The National Police still do not know the causes of the incident. Residents of this sector in the Ecuadorian coast told Ecuavisa Channel that “the murdered individuals were innocent persons”, who had only gathered to watch the game.

Guayaquil is under a state of emergency decreed by President Guillermo Lasso, to counteract violence, according to the president, when applying the restrictive measure.

This new massacre occurs two days after the government declared terrorism, perpetrated by criminal gangs, as a threat against the structure of the State.

Last Friday, the Minister of Defense of Ecuador, Luis Lara, announced that they will act against terrorist organizations, once the executive issue the decree authorization.

Lara explained that the new role of the Armed Forces (FF.AA.) in the South American nation will be the fight against organized crime, drug trafficking, and terrorism.

The announcement of the Ecuadorian Defense Minister took place after the meeting of the State and Public Security Council (Cosepe), on Thursday afternoon, where terrorism was declared as a threat that will be firmly confronted amid the growing wave of violence in Ecuador.

Ecuador is suffering an unprecedented wave of violence which the government attributes to criminal organizations associated with drug trafficking and the response of these groups to actions against them.

The provinces of Esmeraldas and Guayas have become the epicenter of crime in this South American nation, both under a state of emergency recently decreed by President Lasso. (PL)