A devastating fire destroyed at least 35 boats at the port of Manta, Ecuador on June 6, 2026, leaving two people seriously injured
Manta, Ecuador — June 6, 2026
Terror came to Ecuador's most important Pacific fishing port on Saturday morning. A massive fire deliberately set amid the ongoing gang war between Los Lobos and Los Choneros destroyed dozens of boats and left two people seriously injured at the port of Manta — one of the most significant attacks on civilian economic infrastructure in Ecuador's escalating cartel conflict.
A fire broke out Saturday in the artisanal fishing area of the port of Manta, one of the main fishing ports on the Ecuadorian Pacific, leaving at least 25 boats completely burnt and two seriously injured, according to national authorities.
14 fishing boats and 21 speedboats were damaged in the fire — 35 vessels destroyed at the same time.
The fire broke out in the early morning hours of Saturday June 6 and spread rapidly through the closely packed vessels moored at the artisanal fishing dock. Emergency services responded but were unable to prevent the destruction of the majority of the boats before the blaze was brought under control.
Ecuadorian authorities have attributed the attack to the ongoing territorial war between two of Ecuador's most powerful and violent criminal organizations — Los Lobos and Los Choneros.
Los Lobos and Los Choneros were designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists by the US State Department in September 2025 — providing the formal legal trigger for expanded US military involvement in Ecuador.
Organized crime groups such as Los Lobos and Los Choneros control ports across Ecuador, extorting and forcibly recruiting experienced navigators whose knowledge of ocean currents helps evade detection by law enforcement. Many fishermen say participation is not voluntary but enforced under direct threats of violence.
The two people seriously injured in the fire were taken to hospital for treatment. Their condition at the time of publication remains unknown.
Beyond the physical injuries, the destruction of 35 fishing boats represents a catastrophic economic blow to the working fishermen of Manta — men and women whose entire livelihoods depend on the vessels that were reduced to ash on Saturday morning. Many of these boats were not insured. Many of their owners have no other income.
The Manta port fire is the latest in a series of increasingly brazen attacks by Ecuador's warring cartels against civilian infrastructure, economic assets and ordinary communities caught in the crossfire.
The US military has been operating in Ecuador under Operation Southern Spear since November 2025 — employing naval task forces, unmanned aerial systems and autonomous platforms for maritime interdiction across the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, with more than 45 reported strikes against suspected smuggling vessels and over 150 deaths attributed to the campaign by early 2026.
The US government launched military and intelligence operations in Ecuadorian territory in 2026 with authorization from President Noboa, aimed at dismantling Los Lobos and Los Choneros.
Despite this unprecedented level of US military involvement, Saturday's attack on Manta's fishing port demonstrates that Ecuador's gang war continues to devastate ordinary communities with impunity.
Manta is not a peripheral city. It is the heart of Ecuador's fishing industry — one of the most important fishing ports on the entire Pacific coast of South America, responsible for a significant portion of Ecuador's tuna exports to international markets.
An attack on Manta's fishing port is not just an attack on a local community. It is an attack on Ecuador's economy, its food supply chain and its international trade relationships.
Ecuadorian authorities have opened a criminal investigation into the attack. The government of President Daniel Noboa has not yet issued a formal statement specifically addressing the Manta port fire.
For the fishermen of Manta who watched their boats burn on Saturday morning — the investigation offers little comfort. Their livelihoods are gone. Their port is in ruins. And the gangs that did this are still out there.
DeSanta News will continue to follow Ecuador's security crisis as it develops.
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