Ecuador grapples with wave of lethal attacks in Esmeraldas and El Oro provinces

Three separate shootings on 26 June 2026 left three victims dead in the coastal province of Esmeraldas. In Rioverde canton, 40‑year‑old Pablo Alberto Castillo Solís was shot multiple times as he returned home with his wife after buying food, near the local community police unit. In nearby Quinindé canton, a married elderly couple, Ramón Suárez Mora (71) and Clara Inés Pazmiño Pucha (65), were gunned down inside their home. Police investigators cited the rural setting, lack of surveillance cameras and difficult terrain as obstacles to promptly apprehending the gunmen.

In the neighboring province of El Oro, a pattern of gender‑based killings has escalated, with 42 women murdered so far in 2026. The month‑by‑month tally includes the 4 January slaying of Johanna Cecilia Valarezo Sigüenza (40) and three family members in Machala, a surge of at least 12 female victims in February, and the May assassination of Judge Lady Gissela Pachar Huanga. Rosa López Machuca, leader of the Women’s Movement of El Oro, warned, “Ya alcanzamos el 100 % de lo ocurrido en 2025… Es muy probable, y ojalá no sea así, que al terminar el año la cifra se haya duplicado.” She noted that more than 90 % of the murders involve firearms, underscoring a broader security crisis.