Manhunt underway for Ecuador port worker killers.

Police in Ecuador are searching for around 30 gunmen who killed nine men working at the fishing port of Esmeraldas on Tuesday. The victims were boatmen, cargo haulers, and warehouse workers who may have been targeted because they had paid "protection money" to a rival gang. Gang-related violence has been on the increase in Ecuador, with many gangs engaging in extortion and threatening local businesses. The port is also of strategic importance for drug traffickers, who use it to launch speed boats laden with cocaine.