Violent deaths fall 6.4% in Ecuador: Guayaquil and Durán lead the decline
Ecuador recorded 5,676 violent deaths in the first eight months of 2026, a 6.4% decrease compared with 2024. The decline is concentrated in Guayaquil and Durán, while 81 cantons report increased violence.
Homicides in Ecuador fall 6.4% in 2026, but violence shifts towards new provinces
Ecuador recorded 5,676 violent deaths between January and August 2026, compared with 6,067 in the same period the previous year, according to larepublica.ec. The 6.4% decline reflects the effects of public security policies, although analysts warn that the national figures mask a pronounced internal disparity.
The reduction at the national level is almost entirely due to improvements in the historically most critical points on the Coast. The interventions of the Security Bloc in Guayaquil and Durán resulted in 489 fewer homicides compared with the previous period, a figure that alone exceeds the net national reduction. Quito, for its part, reported a 15% reduction in its districts during the first half of the year.
81 cantons register increased violence
The decline in overall indicators is not replicated across all territory. The report from the Ecuadorian Observatory of Organised Crime (OECO) and press reports document an increase in lethal violence in 81 cantons. Outside of Guayaquil and Durán, the rest of the country added 98 additional murders compared with the previous period.
The border province of El Oro concentrates the most severe escalation: it went from 445 homicides to 788 cases so far this year, establishing itself as the new epicentre of the conflict. Santa Elena registered an increase from 142 to 169 cases, whilst Sucumbíos, in the Amazon, escalated from 84 to 100.
Second most violent year since records began
Despite the accumulated reduction compared with the 2025 record, 2026 is shaping up as the second most violent year in the country's statistical history. The Ministry of the Interior maintains active military operations and localised states of exception to contain the uptick recorded during June, July and August, with the aim of consolidating the downward trend in the final four months.
Source: Google News EC — Crime