Five severed human heads were found hanging from ropes on a beach in southwestern Ecuador Sunday in a gruesome display linked to ongoing gang violence sweeping across the country, according to reports. The killings came amid a wave of bloody violence tied to drug trafficking and organized crime, which has surged across Ecuador in recent years. Drug trafficking gangs leave five human heads on an Ecuador beach with a threatening message to fishermen, police said, as violence surges along the country's coastal trafficking routes. (Kike Calvo/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)A wooden sign left beside the heads carried a threatening message aimed at alleged extortionists targeting local fishermen. MS-13 GANG LEADER ACCUSED IN MURDER OF EX-HONDURAN PRESIDENT’S SON ARRESTED IN NEBRASKAIn 2025, at least nine people, including a baby, were killed there in an attack that authorities blamed on clashes between local gangs also.

Source: Fox News January 12, 2026 19:24 UTC