Gang leader assassinated at Guayaquil airport

On June 18, 2026, 39-year-old Carlos Alberto Suastegui Villanueva, leader of the Los Aguilas gang, was shot and killed outside the arrivals hall of the Jose Joaquin de Olmedo Airport in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Security footage shows two assailants waiting for Villanueva while carrying flowers and teddy bears to conceal their weapons. The suspects opened fire at close range, fatally wounding the target. A bystander was also seriously injured during the incident. Police arrested two minors, aged 15 and 16, in the airport parking lot shortly after the attack and recovered the weapons. Authorities believe the motive stems from ongoing territorial disputes between criminal gangs. The Los Aguilas organization is officially designated as a terrorist group by the Ecuadorian government due to its involvement in drug trafficking and extortion. Ecuador has become a significant transit corridor for narcotics moving from neighboring Colombia and Peru toward the United States and Europe.