600 Drones Have Tried to Breach Ecuador's Newest Mega-Prison — All Were Stopped

Since Ecuador's newest maximum-security prison opened in late 2025, organized crime groups have attempted to breach it with drones approximately 600 times. Every attempt was intercepted.

The Numbers

Interior Minister John Reimberg, speaking to AFP, disclosed that "cerca de 600 drones" from organized crime groups have tried to reach El Encuentro — the mega-prison in Santa Elena province inaugurated in November 2025.

The drones were used to deliver illegal objects, coordinate criminal activities, and maintain communication with inmates. Reimberg stated: "Son 600 drones de grupos de delincuencia organizada (…) pero que hemos podido impedir que lleguen."

How They're Stopping Them

El Encuentro employs multiple layers of counter-drone technology:

• Signal jammers (inhibidores de señal) that disrupt drone communications
• Surveillance and monitoring systems covering the prison perimeter
• Security force intervention teams on standby

The 600-drone figure represents attempts since construction began — meaning criminal organizations have been probing the facility even before it housed inmates.

The Expansion Plan

The government announced it will build additional prison facilities with capacity for 15,000 inmates to reduce overcrowding and strengthen state control. The administration has stated it will construct "megacárceles que sean necesarias" — as many mega-prisons as needed.

This follows the model established with El Encuentro, which was designed from the ground up with maximum security protocols, including anti-drone capability.

What This Means for Expats

This story illustrates two things simultaneously. First, the scale of organized crime infrastructure in Ecuador — 600 drone attempts at a single facility shows the resources criminal organizations deploy. Second, the government's capacity to counter it — every attempt was blocked.

The broader security picture: The Noboa administration has leaned heavily on military-grade security infrastructure — mega-prisons, curfews, states of exception — as its primary anti-crime strategy. Whether this approach produces lasting results is debated, but the infrastructure investment is real.

For context: This is the same government that just announced Decree 370 (a new curfew in nine provinces starting May 3). The prison expansion and curfew measures are part of a single, escalating security strategy.

No direct impact on daily expat life, but the story provides useful signal about the security environment's trajectory. Ecuador's organized crime problem isn't disappearing, but the government is investing heavily in containment infrastructure.

Sources: El Telégrafo, Infobae Ecuador