![\"AFP](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/0aba\/live\/1b4ccc90-1d81-11f0-8204-e1b696582403.jpg.webp\")
AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nPolice in Ecuador say they have arrested four people in connection with an attack by gunmen at a cockfighting ring in which 12 people died. <\/p>\n Weapons and replica police and army uniforms were seized during police raids in the north-western Manab\u00ed province on Friday – a day after the attack in the rural community of La Valencia.<\/p>\n Footage of the attack shared on social media showed gunmen entering the ring and opening fire, as terrified spectators dived for cover.<\/p>\n Reports in local media suggested the attackers in fake military gear were members of a criminal gang whose rivals were at the cockfight.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A criminal investigation has been launched by the provincial authorities.<\/p>\n As many as 20 criminal gangs are believed to be operating in the Latin American country, vying for control over major drug routes. <\/p>\n Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa has said that about 70% of the world’s cocaine now flows through Ecuador’s ports before being shipped to the US and Europe.<\/p>\n The drug is smuggled into Ecuador from neighbouring Colombia and Peru \u2013 the world’s two largest producers of cocaine.<\/p>\n This January saw 781 murders, making it the deadliest month in recent years. Many of them were related to the illegal drug trade.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n