One gun, 34 dead: Inside Ecuador's war on black-market weapons


Members of the Ecuadoran armed forces stand in front of seized firearms to be destroyed at a steel plant, in Guayaquil, Ecuador May 30, 2024. REUTERS/Santiago Arcos

QUITO (Reuters) - The gun - a 9-milimeter pistol - blazed a violent trail even by the standards of one of Ecuador's most dangerous neighborhoods, the Nueva Prosperina precinct of Guayaquil.

Shell casings from bullets fired by the weapon, recovered at the scenes of 27 separate violent incidents, were linked to 34 deaths, according to a police forensic unit. And a police forensic official told Reuters the authorities believe the pistol remains on the streets.

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