Khaberni - Five human heads hanging by ropes were found on a beach in southwestern Ecuador, as announced by the country's police on Sunday, at a time the country is reeling under the pressure of a wave of drug-related violence.
The bloody scene was shown in pictures published by Ecuadorian media, and next to the heads was a warning sign directed at those who claim to be extorting fishermen in the small fishing port "Puerto Lopez", with the ropes tied to wooden poles on the beach.
A police report attributed the incident to a conflict between criminal groups.
According to the authorities, the area is active with drug smuggling networks that have links to transnational gangs, and they have utilized the fishermen and their small boats for their illicit activities.
The dispute over areas and control of drug smuggling routes has led to violent incidents across the province of Manabi, where Puerto Lopez is located.
The police said on Saturday that they have carried out monitoring and control operations in Puerto Lopez amid an ongoing state of emergency imposed in nine of the country's 24 counties, including Manabi.
The state of emergency was imposed in an attempt to contain the spiral of violence, especially in coastal areas.
Ecuador has been experiencing a wave of violence for more than four years since it became a logistical center for the storage and distribution of drugs that primarily enter through the northern border with Colombia and the southern border with Peru.
