Undefined Explosive Device (UED) event in Ecuador on Tue 21st April 2026

The National Police neutralized an arms cache in the Tiwintza sector of Machala on Tuesday, April 21. The raided property served as a logistical base for the Sao Box organized crime group, a cell that uses this arsenal to carry out robberies, extortion, and assassinations in the province of El Oro. During the operation, Antonio Eugenio Mera Izquierdo, 32, alias Junior, and Luis Geovanny Feijoo Rodríguez, 28, alias Panza, were arrested. Sources in the area indicated that armed individuals were constantly present at the residence, keeping residents of the sector under siege. The Sao Box organization has gained ground in Machala by controlling outlying neighborhoods, operating under a system of terror to consolidate its extortion rackets targeting local businesses. The detainees are now in the custody of the justice system to begin criminal proceedings for arms trafficking and illicit association. - 6 firearms of different types and calibers - 412 cartridges of different calibers - 10 magazines - 80 detonators - 3 explosive charges - 2 cell phones This blow temporarily weakens the firepower of a group that has turned Machala into one of the points with the highest rate of violent deaths on the Ecuadorian coast.