Leader of Los Águilas made six international trips since 2024 before being killed at Guayaquil airport
Carlos Alberto Suástegui Villanueva, leader of Los Águilas faction in El Triunfo, made at least six trips abroad since 2024 before being shot dead at José Joaquín de Olmedo Airport by two teenagers.
Leader of Los Águilas made six international trips since 2024 before being killed at Guayaquil airport
Carlos Alberto Suástegui Villanueva, the 39-year-old man identified as leader of the Los Águilas faction in El Triunfo, Guayas province, made at least six international trips since 2024 before being shot dead on Wednesday 17 June at José Joaquín de Olmedo Airport, according to reporting by Ecuavisa.
The deceased was returning from a trip to Central America when two teenagers, born in 2010 and 2011, waited for him in the international arrivals area disguised as well-wishers with teddy bears and flowers. One of them approached the victim, drew a concealed weapon from behind the plush toy and fired at close range, according to security footage released by local media and reported by BBC.
Police officers detained both suspected hitmen in the airport car parks. They also seized two firearms which, according to investigations, were used in the attack, confirmed Interior Minister John Reimberg to La República EC.
Suástegui died at the scene. A person accompanying him—presumed to be his wife—was wounded and taken to a medical centre. A bystander also suffered injuries. Passengers in the terminal fled in panic upon hearing the gunshots, according to reporting in newspaper El Universo, cited by BBC.
The arrivals lounge remained closed for more than two hours while experts gathered evidence. Operations resumed the following day with normal service, according to reports from local press cited by Prensa Latina.
The deceased had no active arrest warrant, clarified the minister. However, he was listed as under investigation in three cases, including a homicide in 2019. He is attributed with participation in illicit association, murder and illegal possession of firearms. Los Águilas is linked to drug trafficking, contract killing and extortion in several areas of Guayas, according to Prensa Latina.
The crime occurred one day after President Daniel Noboa declared a state of exception for 60 days in ten provinces and three cantons, amid rising violence linked to organised crime. Since the beginning of 2024, the government has declared successive similar measures, characterising the situation as "internal armed conflict" and designating groups such as Los Águilas as "terrorist organisations".
Despite these measures, Ecuador recorded a record 9,281 homicides in 2025, equivalent to more than 50 violent deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, according to figures cited by La República EC.
The case has raised questions about how an individual considered a "priority target" was able to leave and re-enter the country without being detained, while his killers knew his itinerary with precision. Former president Rafael Correa also questioned the incident, arguing that it reveals failures in intelligence work, according to Prensa Latina.
Source: Google News EC — Guayaquil