In a chilling incident that highlights the escalating gang violence in Ecuador, five severed human heads were discovered hanging from ropes at a beach in the southwestern part of the country. This gruesome scene unfolded on Sunday and has been linked to the ongoing clashes between criminal factions vying for dominance in drug trafficking and organized crime.

This brutal act is a stark reminder of the tactics employed by these criminal organizations, which are fiercely competing for control over territory and the lucrative trafficking routes that span Ecuador’s coastline. The country has seen a disturbing rise in violence, much of which is attributed to the drug trade and the influence of powerful gangs.

According to reports from The Associated Press, these acts are part of a broader strategy by these groups to instill fear and exert control over local populations, particularly in areas critical to their operations.

The macabre discovery was made on a tourist beach within Puerto Lopez, a quaint fishing port located in the province of Manabi. Police investigations suggest that the heads were left as a stark warning to local fishermen, amid a surge in violent incidents along these coastal drug trafficking routes.

Police said the heads were found on a tourist beach in the small fishing port of Puerto Lopez, in Manabi province.

The images shared by Ecuadorian media and on social media showed the severed heads tied with ropes to wooden poles planted in the sand, with blood visible at the scene.

A wooden sign left beside the heads carried a threatening message aimed at alleged extortionists targeting local fishermen.

The message warned those demanding so-called “vaccine cards” protection payments commonly extorted by gangs that they had been identified, the report said.

Members of the Marines detain a suspect during security operations in southern Guayaquil, Ecuador on October 19, 2021. – Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso on October 19 declared a state of emergency in the country grappling with a surge in drug-related violence. (AFP via Getty Images)

Authorities said the display was likely the result of a conflict between criminal groups operating in the area.

Drug-trafficking networks with links to transnational cartels are active along Ecuador’s coast and have used fishermen and their small boats to transport illicit shipments, according to local police.

President Daniel Noboa launched an armed campaign against gangs and declared states of emergency in several provinces, including Manabi, deploying the military to support police operations.

Despite his efforts, violence has continued to escalate with police increasing patrols and surveillance in Puerto Lopez following recent massacres in the province, the Associated Press said.

Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa addresses supporters after early returns show him in the lead in the presidential election runoff at his family home in Olon, Ecuador, Sunday, April 13, 2025.  (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

In 2025, at least nine people, including a baby, were killed there in an attack that authorities blamed on clashes between local gangs also.

As previously reported by Fox News Digital, in 2025, infighting between factions of a gang vying for control over territory in Ecuador’s largest city, Guayaquil, left nearly two dozen people dead.

Ecuador ended the year with a record homicide rate of 52 per 100,000 people, according to the Organized Crime Observatory, making it the deadliest year on record.