Ecuador Police Find 8 Bodies in Bags, Tying Killings to Los Lobos Drug War
Updated
Updated · CBS New York · Jun 3
Ecuador Police Find 8 Bodies in Bags, Tying Killings to Los Lobos Drug War
3 articles · Updated · CBS New York · Jun 3
Summary
Eight bodies were found in plastic bags outside Babahoyo after eight people disappeared Sunday while traveling from Daule to Milagro, police said.
A note left at the scene pointed investigators to Los Lobos, which Interior Minister John Reimberg said likely targeted the victims in its fight with rival gang Los Choneros.
Two of the missing were minors, prosecutor Modesto Freire said, and families identified the group as farmers from Daule, a rice-growing area about 30 miles south of Babahoyo.
Ecuador recorded more than 9,200 violent deaths in 2025 as gangs battle for routes moving about 70% of the cocaine produced in neighboring Colombia and Peru.
President Daniel Noboa has imposed curfews, deployed troops and expanded U.S. security cooperation, but violence has continued even after Los Choneros leader Adolfo Macias was recaptured in 2025.
As Ecuador's murder rate soars, is its US-backed military crackdown fueling the very violence it aims to stop?
Amid torture claims against security forces, is international aid enabling state abuses in Ecuador's war on gangs?
Ecuador’s Deadliest Year: Inside the 9,200 Homicide Crisis and the Battle for National Survival
Overview
On June 3, 2026, the discovery of eight bodies—including minors and farmers—on the outskirts of Babahoyo highlighted Ecuador’s deepening crisis. Once one of South America’s safest countries, Ecuador has rapidly become one of its deadliest, with over 9,200 violent deaths last year. Ordinary civilians are now frequent victims as brutal gang rivalries, especially between Los Lobos and Los Choneros, spill into daily life. Babahoyo’s role as a key narco-trafficking corridor makes it a hotspot for such violence, showing how the conflict extends far beyond gangs and directly threatens innocent residents across the country.