Ecuador sees 28% fall in homicides and sharp robbery decline in May

The Interior Ministry reported that Ecuador recorded 676 violent deaths in May 2026, a 27.7% drop in intentional homicides compared with the same month a year earlier. The reduction is credited to intensified military and police operations under recent states of exception.

Robbery offences also fell markedly: total robberies declined from 935 in May 2025 to 676 in May 2026, with personal robbery down 43% (1,399 cases) and motorcycle theft halving to 975 incidents. The ministry highlighted a 56% decrease in road‑axis assaults and a 35% drop in home burglaries. Between January and May, authorities logged 264,882 interventions, seized 1,172 firearms and over 19,000 rounds of ammunition, and increased arrests of high‑value targets.

These figures are provisional and will be validated on 20 June through the government’s open‑data platform.