Ecuador Records 430 Child, Teen Homicides In 2026

Ecuador homicide crisis as 430 children and adolescents are killed in first eight months of 2026

Homicides among people under 18 hit a record high despite a 6.4% decline in overall killings nationwide.

Ecuador recorded 430 homicides of children and adolescents in the first eight months of 2026, a record high despite a 6.4% decline in overall homicides nationwide, according to the figures provided.

Guayas province accounted for 206 of the killings, or 47% of the national total. Zone 8 — which includes Guayaquil, Durán and Samborondón — recorded 175 deaths, or 40% of all homicides of minors nationwide. Killings of minors in the zone rose 12%.

The increase comes after Ecuador recorded its deadliest year on record in 2025, with 9,216 intentional homicides. The figure was 32% higher than the previous year and pushed the violent-death rate to 50.91 per 100,000 inhabitants.

🚨 Ecuador registró 4.882 asesinatos intencionales entre enero y julio de 2026, segunda cifra más alta de su historia. Guayas concentró 2.028 muertes violentas. Las desapariciones subieron 83%, con 742 casos. Las víctimas denuncian abandono del Estado. Comparte y comenta.… pic.twitter.com/fmDqiCuaEj

— teleSUR TV (@teleSURtv) August 22, 2026

Text Reads: 🚨 Ecuador recorded 4,882 intentional homicides between January and July 2026, the second highest figure in its history. Guayas concentrated 2,028 violent deaths. Disappearances rose 83%, with 742 cases. Victims report abandonment by the State. Share and comment.

Violence hits young people

Los Ríos was among the hardest-hit areas in 2025, recording a homicide rate of 130.4 per 100,000 inhabitants. In the canton of Puebloviejo, the rate reached 360.0.

People aged 18 to 29 accounted for 3,800 victims that year, making them the most affected age group. Most were killed with firearms in public spaces.

Specialized sources have linked the increase in lethal violence among young people to the operational use of children and adolescents by organized criminal groups. Police sources and technical reports say criminal gangs exploit minors’ social and economic vulnerability, recruiting them as lookouts, drug distributors and contract killers and using them as a shield against criminal liability.

Security crisis

Ecuador’s current wave of violence has roots in 2024, when the country’s homicide rate reached 38.80 per 100,000 inhabitants. That year, the government declared an “internal armed conflict” and deployed the armed forces.

According to a report by the Ecuadorian Observatory of Organized Crime, security analysts say militarization and states of emergency helped curb the initial peak of extreme violence and prison massacres.

The decline, however, was accompanied by a shift in criminal activity toward local illicit economies, including extortion, known as “vaccines,” as well as renewed outbreaks of violence in coastal provinces and areas affected by illegal mining.

The record number of homicides involving minors in 2026 stands in contrast to the decline in overall killings recorded during the same period.

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