Kidnapping rates soar to record highs with Guayaquil at the epicenter of a nationwide security crisis.
Daily kidnappings shatter records
Guayaquil is experiencing the worst kidnapping crisis in its history, with as many as four cases reported daily in 2025. Figures from the Attorney General’s Office show that the coastal city accounts for 38% of all reported kidnappings nationwide, making it the undisputed epicenter of this violent trend.
January 2025 marked an all-time high with 69 kidnappings in a single month. Just weeks earlier, in December 2024, kidnappings for ransom peaked at 94 cases—both numbers setting records not seen since systematic reporting began in 2015.
So far this year, Ecuador has averaged 302 kidnappings each month, with Guayaquil alone registering 116 cases. When combined with data from the rest of Guayas Province, the number rises to more than half of all cases in the country, averaging 156 kidnappings monthly.
The difference between crimes
Authorities distinguish between “simple” kidnappings—such as when victims are held briefly so their vehicle can be used for other crimes—and “extortionate” kidnappings, which involve ransom demands or financial pressure on families. In Guayaquil, both types are spreading at alarming rates.
The city has surpassed 120 reported kidnappings in a single month on four occasions since December 2024, underscoring how normalized the crime has become.
High-profile case shocks residents
The most recent case to draw public outrage occurred on Friday, August 15, 2025, when a businesswoman was abducted from a taxi on the Guasanda Bridge, which connects Guayaquil with Samborondón. Her kidnappers smashed the vehicle’s windows in broad daylight on a heavily trafficked viaduct monitored by video surveillance.
The criminals demanded $500,000 for her release. After three days in captivity at a house in Los Vergeles, she was freed on Monday morning thanks to coordinated surveillance work by the Guayaquil Municipal Public Security Company and the National Police.
During the rescue, authorities arrested one guard at the safehouse and later captured four additional suspects, including an individual with a record of weapons charges and homicide.
Organized crime fuels the crisis
Officials link the spike in kidnappings to the growing power of organized crime. The illegal circulation of weapons, weak regulatory controls, and soaring cocaine prices in international markets are driving violence in Ecuador.
Criminal gangs rely on kidnappings and extortion to finance their operations, especially in Guayaquil, Durán, and Nueva Prosperina. These funds help purchase weapons that expand their reach, further escalating homicides and violent crimes.
According to government estimates, Guayaquil accounts for roughly 40% of the country’s crime due to its role as a strategic hub for drug trafficking through its three major seaports, which remain hotly contested by rival gangs.
Government promises stronger response
Interior Minister John Reimberg has pledged a structural reform of police efforts against kidnapping. He announced that the Anti-Kidnapping and Extortion Unit (Unase) will be elevated to a National Directorate by early September 2025, giving it greater resources, manpower, and authority to combat the wave of abductions.
The reform comes as Ecuador continues to deploy states of emergency across high-crime areas, with officials warning that without stricter gun control and stronger institutions, criminal groups will maintain the upper hand.
For Guayaquil’s residents, the statistics confirm what they already live daily: a city where fear of abduction has become a part of everyday life, and where criminal organizations dictate the rhythm of public safety.
This is so sad to hear and read about. I once had plans on retiring in Ecuador, as I was married to an Ecuadorian woman, and I used to spend two weeks every summer in Ecuador. We were mostly in the Quito and surrounding areas (within 2 hours driving from Quito), but we visited Cuenca several times, and went on a cruise to the Galapagos Islands, as well.
I am hoping this can be turned around, but there are many things out of the public’s control, and even the government’s control in some cases, preventing this from happening quickly.