Machala, Ecuador: Arcom headquarters bombed amid illegal mining crackdown

Explosive devices were detonated on the night of 12 June 2026 at the headquarters of the Agency for Regulation and Mining Control (Arcom) in Machala, the capital of Ecuador’s El Oro province. The blast caused material damage to the building and nearby structures but no injuries were reported. Police recovered a pamphlet threatening Arcom officials, and the Ministry of Environment and Energy condemned the attack, linking it to a series of 88 anti‑illegal‑mining operations carried out earlier that day. Officials described the bombing as a retaliation against the state’s crackdown on mining mafias. No group has claimed responsibility and investigations are ongoing.

The Ministry’s statement said, “It is not a coincidence, it is a reaction of those who intend to intimidate a State that has decided to confront the mafias with firmness.” Police commander Colonel Remigio Albiño added that “all units in the sector were activated” after the explosion.