Five human heads were found hanging from ropes on a popular tourist beach in Puerto Lopez, Ecuador, on Monday, in a shocking act of drug gang violence.
Police said the heads were suspended from wooden posts and placed near warning signs, believed to have been left by a drug cartel as a direct message to rival groups.
Ecuador has long served as a key transit route for cocaine shipments to North America and Europe. Authorities say many drug groups rely on local fishermen and small boats to transport narcotics.
Gang-related violence along Ecuador’s Manabi region and coastal areas has worsened since 2020, involving armed attacks, smuggling, and other brutal incidents. In 2025, the country recorded its deadliest year on record, with more than 9,000 homicides reported.
The government has declared a state of emergency in nine of the country’s 24 provinces, including Manabi, and has stepped up security measures and surveillance operations in Puerto Lopez following the grisly discovery.
President Daniel Noboa said Ecuador controls nearly 70 percent of the world’s cocaine supply, making it a prime target for international drug cartels.
A local police chief described the coastal area as “like a grave, with human body parts scattered everywhere,” highlighting the extreme violence of the ongoing conflict between drug gangs and authorities.
Graffiti in nearby Durán, attributed to the Los Tiguerones gang, reads “God, Peace, Freedom,” illustrating the gang’s influence over local communities.
Continued violence has prompted the United Kingdom’s Foreign Office to advise its citizens to avoid traveling to Manabi and six other provinces in Ecuador, except for essential purposes.
