Tourists arriving at a picturesque beach in Ecuador were met with a scene of unimaginable horror over the weekend, as authorities discovered five human heads hanging from ropes in a brutal display believed to be a warning from criminal gangs.
A Grisly Discovery on the Shore
The grim find was made on Sunday at the popular beach in Puerto Lopez, a coastal town in the province of Manabi. According to police reports, the heads were suspended from ropes attached to two wooden poles. Images published by local media outlets vividly illustrated the macabre scene, which is seen as a stark symbol of the drug-trafficking violence that has engulfed the country.
Authorities stated that a written warning was left near the remains. The message was directed at rival groups who were allegedly planning to extort local fishermen operating from the port of Puerto Lopez. These fishing boats are frequently exploited by transnational cartels active in the area for illicit activities.
Surge in Violence and State of Emergency
This atrocity underscores an ongoing and bloody territorial dispute over control of key drug-trafficking routes. Ecuador has been under a renewed 60-day state of emergency since December 31, which restricts certain civil rights in an effort to combat internal disturbance and armed violence. The measure is in force in nine of the nation's 24 provinces, including Manabi.
Police controls in Puerto Lopez had already been intensified following a massacre two weeks prior that left six people dead. Just three days after that incident, another armed attack in the same province claimed six more lives. Despite these measures, official figures reveal a staggering 9,000 murders were recorded in Ecuador in 2025 alone, highlighting the scale of the crisis.
Recent violent incidents include:
- An attack at a pool hall in Santo Domingo in October, where gunmen killed five people in a gang-related dispute.
- A similar pool hall assault one month earlier that resulted in seven deaths and four injuries.
- The killing of former Ecuador international footballer Mario Pineida, 33, during an armed attack in Guayaquil in December.
UK Travel Warnings for British Nationals
In response to the extreme instability, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office has issued specific travel advice. It recommends against all but essential travel to Manabi and six other coastal regions, as well as most areas within 20km of the border with Colombia.
The Foreign Office warns that while tourists are not typically targeted in coastal areas, "you could be a victim of violence due to mistaken identity or be caught up in a security incident involving others." In other parts of Ecuador, there is also a risk of "express kidnapping," where individuals are taken briefly and forced to withdraw money from ATMs.
For any essential travel near the Colombia border, the guidance is stringent: the security situation can change rapidly, and travellers should remain highly alert, follow local advice, travel in daylight with an official guide, and have robust emergency plans and communication systems in place.
The country's strategic location has made it a major hub for drug distribution and storage over the past four years, primarily through its porous borders with Colombia and Peru, fuelling the relentless cycle of violence that now plays out in its most public and terrifying forms.
