Overview
- The heads were found hung from wooden posts on the Puerto López seafront on Jan. 11, steps from a hotel in a beach area frequented by tourists and fishers.
- A handwritten sign warned those who "rob fishermen" and demand "vacuna" cards, using the local term for extortion.
- Forensics units from Criminalística and Dinased collected evidence and transferred the remains to the Manta forensics center; authorities reported no arrests and have not located the bodies.
- Relatives gave preliminary identifications for four victims — Pedro Ángel Mero Muñoz, Jorge Luis Quijije Quijije, Anthony Bartolo Anchundia Figueroa, and Bernardo Ramón Medranda Mendoza — pending official confirmation.
- Police say the case likely ties to internal disputes within Los Choneros and recent coastal violence, with Ecuador under heightened security measures after a record 2025 homicide rate.