Guayaquil.- At least one person died and two others were injured after being shot this Wednesday in an area of the Guayaquil airport, the most populous city in Ecuador and one of the most violent in the country, as confirmed by the Police.
The incident was recorded around 18:00 local time at the exit of the international arrivals area, which triggered the airport’s security protocol, which remained closed for about two hours, until a few minutes ago when operations began to resume.
In videos that circulated on social media, it can be seen how two people were on the floor after the attack, amidst the commotion of passengers and airport terminal workers terminal.
Interior Minister John Reimberg confirmed that the murdered person was Carlos Alberto Suástegui Villanueva, an alleged leader of the criminal gang Los Águilas, a faction of Los Choneros, the oldest criminal gang operating in Ecuador, and who was considered “high risk” and a “prioritized criminal target“.
Also, he added that Suástegui has a record of four prior offenses and was imprisoned on two occasions. He was investigated for crimes such as illicit association, murder, and possession of unauthorized weapons.
More Read
The Police indicated that after the alert they moved to the site and detained two minors as alleged perpetrators of the attack, who have already been placed at the disposal of judicial authorities.
You can also read: Héctor Porcella participated as a speaker at the Andean Forum in Ecuador
The minors are between 15 and 16 years old, according to information published by Reimberg, who added that two firearms were seized at the scene.
Guayaquil is one of the cities that, as of this Wednesday, is under a new state of emergency decreed by Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa in ten provinces and three municipalities due to the high level of crime and violence.
More Read
The measure will be in effect for 60 days in the provinces of Pichincha, whose capital is Quito; Guayas, whose capital is Guayaquil; Manabí, Santa Elena, Los Ríos, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, Sucumbíos and Azuay, as well as in the municipalities of La Maná, in Cotopaxi; Las Naves, in Bolívar; and La Troncal, in Cañar.
It is the latest in a series of states of emergency that Noboa has decreed since he declared the country to be in a state of “internal armed conflict” at the beginning of 2024, in order to intensify the fight against criminal gangs, labeled as “terrorists,” to which the government attributes the unprecedented escalation of violence that the Andean country has recorded in recent years.
Despite that declaration, the Andean country recorded a record of 9,281 murders in 2025, which is equivalent to a rate of more than 50 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants.
