Ecuador Police Confirm Five Human Heads Displayed on Puerto López Beach

Overview

• Police verified on Sunday that five severed heads were hung beside a warning sign on a beach near a hotel in Puerto López, Manabí.
• A wooden board at the site bore a message claiming control of the village and referencing robberies of fishermen and demands for vaccination receipts.
• Locally known as “vacinas,” extortion payments are widely levied by criminal groups on residents and businesses in exchange for supposed protection.
• Images of the display circulated on social media, and authorities said they have opened an investigation, identified no suspects, and not found the victims’ bodies.
• The incident follows late‑December attacks in the area that killed at least nine people, as Ecuador records a 2025 homicide rate of 52 per 100,000 and pursues a hardline campaign against criminal organizations.