“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat
A video from surveillance cameras recorded the moment when armed men provoke the massacre at the Esmeraldas Fishing Port at 09:00 this April 11, 2023.
The images show approximately 20 armed men arriving on board boats and firing a volley of bullets at the fishermen and merchants who were in the place.
Desperation in the Port of Esmeraldas
Out of desperation, some people jump into the water to try to survive. However, as soon as the armed men touch the port, they target several individuals and kill them.
During the minute and 10 seconds that the anonymous men were on land, the subjects attacked those who crossed their path and everyone inside the warehouses.
After the massacre, the men, who were carrying short and long-range weapons, fled the place in the same boats in which they arrived.
So far, the Public Prosecutor’s Office has confirmed that it has removed seven bodies from the Puerto Pesquero Artesanal and two more from a nearby health center.
The Police reported that two of the nine bodies of the victims were extracted from the sea.
The authorities are investigating the causes of the massacre while the search for the gunmen continues by air, sea, and land.
