QUITO, Feb 24, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Gunmen dressed in military-style uniforms killed seven people Monday in western Ecuador, police said, as the country continues to grapple with drug violence.

Attacks by individuals dressed as soldiers are frequent in the South American nation, where drug trafficking gangs with connections to international cartels are fighting over turf.

Monday's massacre occurred at a ranch in Manabi, which has been under a state of emergency -- along with eight other provinces -- since January.

President Daniel Noboa has deployed the military in anti-drug campaigns but homicides have only increased, ticking up to a record 9,216 violent deaths last year.

Monday's attack occurred in the early morning and "left seven people dead from gunshot wounds," police said.

Before killing them, the attackers took the victims to a courtyard, interrogated them, and then opened fire with rifles and handguns.

Among the dead was a 16-year-old boy.

Ecuador has gone from being one of South America's safest countries to a major cocaine trafficking hub in the space of a few years, plagued by gangs with ties to Mexican and Colombian cartels.

Its strategic location on the Pacific Ocean has made it a gateway for Colombian and Peruvian cocaine destined for the United States and Europe.