Ecuador violence took a brutal turn Sunday after five severed human heads were discovered hanging from ropes on a tourist beach in southwestern Ecuador, highlighting the growing power of criminal gangs and the nation’s worsening security crisis.
Ecuadorian authorities, in coordination with U.S. law enforcement, captured one of the country’s most violent and powerful cartel leaders this week in a major blow to organized crime. Jose Adolfo “Fito” Macias, head of the Los Choneros cartel, was arrested while hiding in a bunker, according to Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa.
Ecuador's presidential runoff election reaches a boiling point as incumbent Daniel Noboa and socialist challenger Luisa González concluded their campaigns Thursday with sharply contrasting rallies in Guayaquil. The Sunday vote will determine if Noboa, a 37-year-old political outsider, retains power or if Ecuador returns to the socialist policies of the Rafael Correa era.
