Ecuador’s security crisis is taking an increasingly devastating toll on its youngest citizens.

New figures from Ecuador’s Interior Ministry show that 345 children and teenagers were killed between January and July 2026, the highest number recorded for the first seven months of a year in the country.

That works out to approximately one child or teenager killed every 14 hours and 45 minutes.

The numbers provide a disturbing look at how deeply Ecuador’s struggle with organized crime and armed violence is affecting families across the country.

345 Young Lives Lost in Seven Months

Ecuador recorded a total of 4,882 intentional homicides between January and July, meaning minors represented roughly 7% of the victims.

While the 345 deaths are only 1.8% higher than the 339 recorded during the same period in 2025, the longer-term trend is much more alarming.

In the first seven months of 2024, 224 minors were killed. In 2023, the number was 194.

That means the 2026 figure represents an increase of approximately 54% compared with 2024 and nearly 78% compared with 2023. Compared with 2019, when 26 minors were killed during the same seven-month period, the increase exceeds 1,200%.

Guns Behind Over 90% of the Killings

Firearms were used in 321 of the 345 killings, accounting for more than 93% of the deaths.

Thirteen victims were killed with knives or other sharp weapons, while other cases involved strangulation, blunt-force or constricting weapons and poisoning.

The figures reflect a broader transformation that Ecuador has experienced over the past several years as organized criminal groups battle over drug-trafficking routes and territory.

UNICEF had already sounded the alarm in 2024, reporting that Ecuador’s homicide rate among children and adolescents had increased dramatically amid rising organized crime, recruitment of young people by armed groups and violence affecting schools and communities.

Guayaquil Is the Hardest-Hit City

The epicentre of the crisis is Guayaquil, where 111 minors were killed during the first seven months of 2026.

Durán recorded another 28 deaths, while Manta and Esmeraldas recorded 15 each.

Many young victims are not necessarily the intended targets of attacks.

In one recent case in Guayaquil, a seven-year-old boy was shot three times when gunmen attacked an amusement business. Police said the attack was believed to have been directed at the owners of the establishment, leaving the child and a woman as collateral victims.

Ecuador’s Children Are Growing Up in a Different Country

Perhaps the most striking part of the statistics is how quickly Ecuador has changed.

In 2019, only 26 minors were recorded as homicide victims between January and July. Seven years later, that number has reached 345.

Behind every statistic is a child, a family and a community dealing with the consequences of a security crisis that has transformed everyday life in parts of the country.

Ecuador has spent years deploying police and military forces, declaring states of emergency and introducing new security measures to confront organized crime.

But the latest figures reveal one of the most painful realities of the crisis:

Ecuador’s children are increasingly becoming its victims.