Official data show disappearances rose 2.8% year-on-year as experts call for stronger search measures and a review of security policies.
Ecuador recorded 3,909 disappearance reports between January and June 2026, a 2.8% increase from the same period a year earlier, according to open data from the Ministry of the Interior published by El Diario Manabí. The figures represent 105 more reported disappearances than in the first half of 2025.
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The data show disappearances have remained consistently high in Ecuador over the past six years, with annual totals ranging between 6,700 and 7,500 cases.
Manabí registered the country’s largest increase during the first half of 2026, recording 255 disappearances—30% more than in the same period of 2025, or 59 additional cases.
The province has drawn renewed attention following the recent discovery of a suspected torture house in the El Florón sector of Portoviejo, where police preliminarily found dismembered human remains.
According to El Diario Manabí, about 16.5% of reported missing persons are ultimately found dead, while roughly 5% of cases remain unresolved. The publication also reported that most disappearances involve teenagers linked to family conflicts or personal circumstances, while around 16% are directly associated with organized criminal groups.
Experts Question Security Strategy
Security specialists say the figures highlight broader shortcomings in Ecuador’s approach to tackling violence.
Former military intelligence director Mario Pazmiño said some areas have become “sanctuary sites” where criminal groups exercise territorial control and establish torture houses.
Political analyst Arturo Moscoso argued that the large-scale deployment of military personnel has failed to deliver the expected results and called for an evaluation of the security measures implemented under states of emergency and the country’s armed conflict framework, with particular attention to their impact on public safety.
Security expert Andrés Williams said Ecuador should incorporate indicators such as enforced disappearances and multiple homicides into its assessment of violence to provide a more accurate picture of the country’s security situation and better inform public policy.
Bill Seeks Faster Response to Disappearances
In March 2026, lawmaker Ana Herrera introduced a bill aimed at strengthening the state’s response to disappearance cases.
The proposal would require search protocols to be activated automatically once a disappearance is reported and set a maximum response time of 30 minutes for operational search efforts to begin. It also mandates the immediate involvement of the National Police, the Prosecutor’s Office and ECU-911 to reduce response times nationwide.
The latest figures underscore the persistent scale of disappearances in Ecuador as lawmakers and security experts press for faster search procedures and a broader assessment of policies aimed at addressing violence and organized crime.
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