Police reveal details of attack that left three dead in Cojimíes

A violent attack on a beach in Cojimíes, Ecuador, has left three men dead, disrupting a public holiday and prompting a large-scale manhunt for the assailants.

The victims, identified as Fabián Vicente Vera Garay and brothers Carlos Andrés and Jonathan Fernando Mendoza Zambrano, were reportedly members of an armed group known as GAO R7. Police stated that the men had multiple prior criminal convictions, and one of them had an international Interpol alert.

According to police reports, the three men had arrived at the tourist beach only hours before the attack. Witnesses reported that armed assailants arrived by boat, directly targeted the victims, and then fled the scene by sea in a blue boat.

Authorities have launched a joint operation involving the National Police and the Armed Forces, including naval patrols and aerial surveillance, to locate the attackers. Interprovincial raids are also underway in Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, the victims' hometown, in an effort to apprehend those responsible.

Investigators are working to determine the exact circumstances surrounding the attack, with authorities considering the possibility of a settling of scores due to the targeted nature of the assault and the assailants' swift escape by sea. A woman was also injured in the attack, sustaining a bullet wound to the ankle.