At least one person was killed and two others were wounded in a shooting on Wednesday evening at the international arrivals exit of Guayaquil’s airport, triggering a security protocol that shut down the terminal for about two hours, the National Police confirmed.
The victim was identified as Carlos Alberto Suástegui Villanueva, an alleged leader of the criminal gang Los Águilas, a faction of Los Choneros, the oldest organized crime group operating in Ecuador. Interior Minister John Reimberg described Suástegui as a “high-risk” individual and a “priority criminal target.”
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The attack happened around 6:00 p.m. local time (23:00 GMT). Videos circulated on social media showed two people lying on the ground as passengers and airport workers scrambled in shock. Operations began to resume only a few minutes before authorities issued their official statement.
Police officers responded to the alert, arrested two minors aged 15 and 16 suspected of carrying out the shooting, and seized two firearms at the scene.
The minors have been placed at the disposal of judicial authorities. According to Reimberg, Suástegui had four prior criminal records, had been imprisoned twice, and was investigated for criminal conspiracy, murder and illegal possession of weapons.
#ATENCIÓN | Un hecho violento registrado en la zona de arribos internacionales del Aeropuerto Internacional José Joaquín de Olmedo dejó una persona fallecida y otra herida. Tras el incidente, dos sospechosos fueron aprehendidos y puestos a órdenes de las autoridades… pic.twitter.com/yHNRdOk2FG
— Radio Pichincha (@radio_pichincha) June 18, 2026
The events unfolded on the same day that Guayaquil and several other areas entered a new 60-day state of emergency decreed by President Daniel Noboa because of high levels of crime and violence.
The measure applies to ten provinces — Pichincha (capital Quito), Guayas (capital Guayaquil), Manabí, Santa Elena, Los Ríos, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, Sucumbíos and Azuay — and the municipalities of La Maná (Cotopaxi), Las Naves (Bolívar) and La Troncal (Cañar).
It is the latest in a series of emergency declarations since early 2024, when Noboa declared the country in a state of “internal armed conflict”. Despite the measures, the Andean nation recorded a record 9,281 murders in 2025, a homicide rate of more than 50 per 100,000 inhabitants.
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