Chile: Kast bound for crime-torn Ecuador
Monday, December 22nd 2025 – 10:44 UTC
The agenda of Tuesday’s talks between Kast and Noboa has not yet been disclosed
Chilean President-elect José Antonio Kast is departing on Monday for Ecuador amid escalating security concerns.
While Kast insisted that he planned to live in La Moneda Palace, thus reducing the need for a security detail at his various residences, he is departing for Ecuador on Monday afternoon in his second trip abroad after winning the Dec. 14 runoffs.
He plans to engage in talks on Tuesday with fellow Conservative President Daniel Noboa, whose country has been facing a surge in murders-for-hire following last week’s assassination of footballer Mario Pineida. While the official agenda has not been disclosed, both leaders are expected to focus on regional security, migration, and trade.
Pineida, a 33-year-old star defender for Barcelona SC, was assassinated in Guayaquil on Dec. 17. He and his partner, Guisella Fernández, were killed in a hail of gunfire outside a butcher shop in the Samanes neighborhood. The player’s mother was also wounded but survived. Investigators recovered 17 bullet casings at the scene.
Ecuadorian police have arrested two Venezuelan nationals in connection with the crime. Authorities are currently pursuing two primary motives. One involves debts related to an informal money-lending business allegedly run by Fernández. The second suggests a crime of passion linked to a former relationship Fernández had with an organized crime figure.
The security situation darkened further on Friday afternoon when Karen Grunaer was murdered shortly after leaving Pineida’s funeral. Grunaer was traveling in a vehicle on Avenida 19 de Agosto when armed attackers blocked her path and opened fire. While police confirmed Grunaer attended the athlete’s memorial, they stated there is currently no proven link between the two homicides.
