An Ecuadorian Army soldier salutes from an armored Cobra II vehicle at a delivery ceremony in Quito (file photo, 11 September 2023). Photo: Jonathan Miranda, Presidencia de la República del Ecuador, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

ECUADOR · GUAYAQUIL · SECURITY

Ecuadorian soldiers and police seized about 100 firearms from arsenals hidden in bunkers in less than a week, the television network Teleamazonas reported on Saturday, 24 October 2026.

Ecuadorian soldiers and police seized about 100 firearms from arsenals hidden in bunkers during an offensive of less than seven days, according to a report by the television network Teleamazonas on Saturday, 24 October 2026. The report says the haul included rifles and weapons of war that were intended to cause terror in the country.

The seizures matter to Americans because Washington listed two Ecuadorian gangs, Los Choneros and Los Lobos, as foreign terrorist organizations, effective when the notice was published on Friday, 5 September 2025. The State Department also tells travelers not to go to large parts of Guayaquil, Ecuador’s biggest city and main port, and to reconsider travel to the rest of it.

What Teleamazonas Reported

Teleamazonas published the report, by journalist Catalina García, in the 24 Horas reports section of its website on Saturday, 24 October 2026, under the headline “Security forces seize arsenals with 100 firearms hidden in bunkers”. Its web page sums the story up in one sentence: a military and police offensive of less than seven days seized rifles and weapons of war.

The report is a video, and the text on the page does not list the bunkers, their locations or the number of firearms in each. On Sunday morning, 25 October 2026, The Rio Times found no itemised tally from the National Police, the Interior Ministry or the Armed Forces Joint Command on their public websites and social media pages that adds up to 100.

The headline number is therefore Teleamazonas’s own, not an official count. It is also unclear whether the 100 firearms combine army and police seizures, and whether every bunker was in Guayaquil, although the version of the headline in the network’s news feed says the forces acted there.

An Ecuadorian team member fires at a target during the Fuerzas Comando 2025 special operations competition at Ilopango, El Salvador (file photo, 22 August 2025). It is not a photo of the seizures. Photo: Sgt. Elena Torres-Rivera, US National Guard, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Guayaquil Bunker That Is Confirmed

The National Police dismantled a hidden bunker in a house in the Samanes neighborhood of north Guayaquil on the afternoon of Wednesday, 21 October 2026, the news site Primicias reported the next morning. The Rio Times covered that raid in an earlier report.

Officers found 13 Claymore anti-personnel mines, 10 C4 plastic-explosive charges with detonation systems, a rifle, a shotgun, magazines and more than 690 cartridges. Nobody was in the house when officers entered, and the police did not name a gang.

Police chief Juan Espín of Guayaquil’s Distrito Modelo said intelligence officers had investigated the property for two months. The police called the bunker “sophisticated”, with a hydraulic system near the water tank, and called the raid a “hard blow to criminal economies”.

That bunker held two firearms, so it cannot account for most of the 100 in the Teleamazonas count. The other finds behind the figure are not described in any source The Rio Times could read.

How It Fits the Wider Campaign

General Henry Delgado, chief of Ecuador’s Joint Command of the Armed Forces, said in an interview that El Universo published on Thursday, 1 October 2026, that the armed forces alone had seized 3,167 firearms so far this year. He added that they had carried out more than 1,000 raids since January, mostly in Guayas province, whose capital is Guayaquil.

Spread over the 39 weeks from January to the end of September, 3,167 firearms is roughly 80 a week, a Rio Times calculation. A haul of about 100 in under a week would therefore be large but not out of line, especially if it adds police finds to military ones.

President Daniel Noboa announced on Wednesday, 14 October 2026 a new series of special operations, and Executive Decree 519, signed on Thursday, 15 October, sets a curfew between 00:00 and 05:00 in Guayas, Manabí, Los Ríos, El Oro and Esmeraldas from Sunday, 1 November to Tuesday, 10 November. He said the last curfew, which ran from Thursday, 17 September to Wednesday, 30 September in four provinces, came with 40% fewer crimes, according to El Universo.

Why It Matters to the United States

The State Department published the terrorist designations of Los Choneros and Los Lobos, dated Wednesday, 6 August 2025, in the Federal Register on Friday, 5 September 2025, and the foreign terrorist organization listing took effect on publication. A second notice the same day designated both groups under Executive Order 13224, the order that allows the United States to block their assets.

The listing puts the two gangs in the same US category as Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, which the State Department designated in February 2025. Delgado said in the same interview that Ecuador’s planning with the United States for a regional anti-cartel coalition should be complete by November, with Ecuador as its operations theater for the South Pacific.

He added that any operation involving US forces would run under the Joint Command’s planning, because the Americans do not act alone. He also said joint action with the United States in international waters had largely cut the refueling points that fast drug boats relied on.

What It Means for You

For travelers, the State Department’s Ecuador advisory, issued on Tuesday, 18 August 2026, is Level 2, “exercise increased caution”, because of crime, terrorism, unrest and kidnapping. It sets Level 4, “do not travel”, for the Guayaquil districts of Nueva Prosperina and Pascuales and all areas south of Portete de Tarqui Avenue, and Level 3 for the rest of the city.

The Samanes bunker was in the north of the city, and the police did not say what the mines and explosives were meant for. The find therefore says nothing certain about risks to visitors.

A curfew between 00:00 and 05:00 in Guayas, Manabí, Los Ríos, El Oro and Esmeraldas, set by Decree 519 for Sunday, 1 November to Tuesday, 10 November 2026, could affect travelers there. Anyone planning a Guayaquil trip for those dates should check local news and the State Department page before booking.

US companies that ship through Guayaquil or deal with Ecuadorian partners should take legal advice on the terrorism designations, which can block assets and restrict dealings with the named groups. The designations apply to the gangs, not to Ecuador or its businesses.

What Is Not Known

No official source The Rio Times could read gives the number of bunkers, their locations or how many firearms each held. It is also unknown which agencies made each seizure, which gangs owned the weapons and whether anyone was arrested.

Teleamazonas calls the weapons “weapons of war”, but its page does not say how many were rifles, how many were handguns or how many were new. Nothing public explains how the weapons reached the bunkers or whether any came from abroad.

It is also unclear whether the 100 counts only firearms or other items, since the Samanes find alone held 13 mines and 10 C4 charges. An official tally from the police, the Interior Ministry or the Joint Command would settle the question.

The police have not said whether the Samanes bunker is tied to a known gang, and prosecutors have not said whether a case is open. The Rio Times found no official statement on further bunker searches.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many firearms were seized in Ecuador’s bunkers?

Teleamazonas reported about 100 firearms in an offensive of under seven days. The Rio Times found no itemised official tally to confirm the figure.

What was found in the Guayaquil bunker?

Police found 13 Claymore mines, 10 C4 charges, a rifle, a shotgun and more than 690 cartridges in north Guayaquil on 21 October 2026. The police did not name a gang.

Why does it matter to the United States?

Washington designated Los Choneros and Los Lobos as foreign terrorist organizations in September 2025. Ecuador’s military chief says planning with the United States for a regional anti-cartel coalition should be complete by November.

Is it safe for Americans to visit Guayaquil?

The State Department rates Ecuador Level 2 overall, but parts of Guayaquil are Level 4, “do not travel”, and the rest of the city is Level 3. Read the advisory issued on 18 August 2026 before any trip.

Is another curfew planned?

Yes, Executive Decree 519 sets a curfew from 00:00 to 05:00 in Guayas, Manabí, Los Ríos, El Oro and Esmeraldas from 1 to 10 November 2026. President Noboa says the September curfew came with 40% fewer crimes.

Sources: Teleamazonas, report of 24 October 2026, Primicias, Guayaquil bunker, 22 October 2026, El Universo, interview with General Henry Delgado, 1 October 2026, El Universo, Noboa announces curfew, 14 October 2026, El Universo, Decree 519 curfew, 15 October 2026, Infobae, Decree 519 curfew, 16 October 2026, US State Department, Ecuador Travel Advisory issued 18 August 2026, Federal Register, FR Doc 2025-17067, 5 September 2025, Federal Register, FR Doc 2025-17074, 5 September 2025, Federal Register, FR Doc 2025-02873, 20 February 2025. All retrieved 25 October 2026.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief