Fake police kill 26-year-old man in Machala with stolen patrol vehicle
Four armed men disguised as police officers in a vehicle resembling a patrol car broke into a home in Puerto Bolívar and killed Justin Zambrano.
Man killed in Puerto Bolívar by individuals disguised as police
A group of four armed men entered a house in the parish of Puerto Bolívar, in Machala, province of El Oro, and opened fire on Justin Steeven Zambrano Medranda, 26 years old, who was on the second floor of the property. The attack occurred on Thursday 17 September, according to infobae.com.
The attackers arrived in a vehicle with the appearance of a police patrol car and wore clothing similar to that of National Police officers. With that disguise they would have managed to approach the location without alarming the neighbours in the area.
The attack and the escape
Once in front of the house, the men knocked down the door and entered the property. They went up to the second floor and shot at Zambrano, who received at least five bullet impacts. After committing the crime, they abandoned the house and escaped in the same vehicle.
The vehicle was located approximately four or five blocks away, in the direction of the Carmen Bautista sector, near an area of shrimp farms. There it was set on fire, a practice that hinders the recovery of evidence for identifying those responsible.
The vehicle and the plates
Colonel Renato González, commander of Zone 7 of the Police, confirmed that the vehicle used in the attack did not belong to the institution. According to reports of his statements, the vehicle had characteristics similar to those of a patrol car and would have used licence plates corresponding to an actual police vehicle.
Officers from the National Directorate of Investigation of Crimes Against Life, Violent Deaths, Disappearances, Kidnappings and Extortion (Dinased) and from Crime Scene Investigation attended both crime scenes to collect evidence. The investigation seeks to determine how the attackers obtained the vehicle, the licence plates and the clothing used to simulate a police operation.
As of 18 September, no arrests had been made and the identity of the four attackers had not been publicly established.
Background in Puerto Bolívar
The use of a fake patrol car has recent precedent in the same area. On 15 February 2026, four people were killed in the 4 de Abril neighbourhood in an attack in which a vehicle rigged to appear to be a police car was also used, which was subsequently set on fire.
A similar episode occurred on 25 April, when armed men arrived in Puerto Bolívar in a pick-up truck with characteristics of a patrol car and clothing similar to that of police officers. That attack left six people dead. The authorities linked the investigation of that case to confrontations between criminal organisations disputing operating spaces in the area, and later reported the detention of two people allegedly related to the incineration of the vehicle used.
Context of violence in El Oro
The new murder occurs amid sustained violence in Machala and Puerto Bolívar. During September, the authorities intensified security operations in the area following several homicides and the discovery of human remains.
According to figures cited by Ecuavisa and attributed to the Ministry of the Interior, the province of El Oro recorded 634 intentional homicides between January and July 2026.
Police are analysing as a hypothesis a possible connection to disputes between criminal organisations active in Puerto Bolívar, although that investigative line has not yet allowed them to attribute the crime to a particular organisation or establish the definitive motive.
The case remains open as investigators seek to establish whether the use of the fake patrol car responds to a method systematically adopted by criminal groups to facilitate their attacks in the area.
Source: Google News EC — Crime