Ecuador sees surge in political violence amid new state of emergency

In June 2026 the Ecuadorian government issued executive decrees 423 and 424, declaring a state of emergency over a "grave internal disturbance" and expanding powers to combat non‑international armed conflict. The week was marked by a series of high‑profile killings: gang leader Carlos Alberto Suástegui Villanueva was shot at Guayaquil’s international airport; anti‑corruption activist Monika Silva Koniuszek, a Polish citizen, was found dead and later confirmed to have been murdered; a university finance manager and a prosecutor investigating a major fire were also assassinated. Journalist Hernán Higuera announced he would stop investigating the Progen case after threats reached his family, and a Florida federal judge sealed the case file at the request of the companies involved. The violence prompted calls for investigations from the European Union and Poland, further straining public confidence in Ecuador’s security institutions.