Alias Charlie: Ecuador Media Name Man Killed in Manabí Army Operation

ECUADOR · SECURITY

Updated 1 times · Latest: 28 September 2026

Ecuador’s government says three men were killed in an operation against alias Charlie. Ecuadorian media have since named him as Carlos Germán Muñoz Jara, from Ibarra.

What changed on 28 September

Ecuadorian media including Primicias, Extra and Expreso named alias Charlie on 27 September as Carlos Germán Muñoz Jara, from Ibarra. No official statement naming him could be located, and Extra said military and police sources had kept the names under reserve.

Relatives went to the forensic centre in Manta on Saturday 26 September to claim his body, Primicias reported. It was to be taken to Ibarra, in Imbabura province, for burial.

One of the two escorts was named as Danny Gustavo Hernández Arteaga, 26, from Quito. The third man’s identity is still pending forensic work.

Primicias reported 24 cases in the Judicial Council register and prosecutors’ records for breach of trust, tax fraud and swindling. None is reported as a conviction, and the alleged cartel links remain the minister’s claims.

What the government says happened

Ecuador’s government says three people were killed in a military operation on Tuesday 23 September 2026. One of them was a man the authorities identified by the alias “Charlie”. The other two were described as members of his security detail.

The location was the El Aromo sector near Manta, in the coastal province of Manabí. The site is the grounds of the Refinería del Pacífico, a refinery project that was never completed.

According to the official account, Ecuadorian Army units intercepted a vehicle. The Manabí police command also took part in the operation. No security-force casualties were reported.

The United States Southern Command, known as SOUTHCOM, is described in that account as providing support and coordination. SOUTHCOM is the US military command responsible for Latin America and the Caribbean.

No source states who fired. The government has not said, and no independent account has appeared. Security forces said they seized one rifle, a further firearm and one explosive device.

Who the government says was killed

Defence Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo called the man “one of the highest value military targets in the country”. He described him as a logistics operator and financial handler for international drug trafficking networks.

Loffredo alleged links to three organisations. Those are Los Choneros in Ecuador, the Frente Oliver Sinisterra in Colombia, and the Jalisco Nueva Generación cartel in Mexico, usually shortened to CJNG.

All of that is the official version. It has not been tested in court, and the ministry published no supporting evidence. The ministry’s own wording also matters. It called the man an operator and a financier, not a leader. Some Ecuadorian outlets have called him a Choneros “cabecilla”, or ringleader, which goes further than the ministry did.

President Daniel Noboa posted his own message on X on 23 September 2026. He wrote: “Este es el resultado para quienes buscan amenazar a los ecuatorianos y para quienes creen que pueden financiar el crimen desde cualquier parte del mundo.”

That translates as follows. This is the result for those who seek to threaten Ecuadorians. It is also the result for those who believe they can finance crime from anywhere in the world. Noboa added that the battle “no termina en nuestras fronteras”. In English, it does not end at our borders.

What is not established

No official statement naming the dead could be located. On 23 September the Defence Ministry said the legal identities “permanecen pendientes de los peritajes”, meaning pending forensic examination.

Ecuadorian media have since named the man as Carlos Germán Muñoz Jara and one escort as Danny Gustavo Hernández Arteaga. Those identifications come from the outlets, not a published ministry statement. The third man remains unidentified.

The man was not a convicted figure. The government had designated him a military objective. The records reported by Primicias are open cases, not convictions.

The account of the operation itself has not been independently confirmed. Wire copy from AFP and EFE rests on two social media posts: one from President Noboa, one from Defence Minister Loffredo.

SOUTHCOM issued no statement of its own that could be located. So the only public sources for what happened at El Aromo are two members of the Ecuadorian cabinet.

The wider campaign, and what it means on the ground

This operation sits inside a longer campaign. Noboa declared an internal war on criminal groups in 2024, and soldiers have carried out policing tasks since then.

There is also a maritime dimension. United States forces have struck vessels off Ecuador since late August 2026, on suspicion of drug trafficking.

For residents of Manabí, the practical picture has not changed. No access restriction was reported around El Aromo. No curfew and no evacuation were announced.

For anyone living in Ecuador or moving there, the useful habit is source discipline. Major security events here are often announced first on ministers’ social media accounts. Detailed confirmation follows slowly, and sometimes it does not follow at all.

The open points are the third man’s identity and any official naming statement. Until the ministry publishes its findings, the reported names and the alleged cartel links are not officially confirmed.

Sources

• Primicias — operativo alias Charlie
• El Diario — tres abatidos en los terrenos de la Refinería del Pacífico
• Expreso — nexos con Choneros, CJNG y Frente Oliver Sinisterra
• El Universo — Noboa anuncia la operación
• Primicias — quién era Charlie (27 September)
• Extra — identificación del fallecido (27 September)
• Expreso — nuevos detalles (27 September)

FAQ

More: Ecuador news in English, every day from The Rio Times.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many people were killed?

Three. The government says they were a man it identified by the alias “Charlie” and two members of his security detail. No security-force casualties were reported.

Is the identification confirmed?

Not officially. Ecuadorian media including Primicias, Extra and Expreso named alias Charlie as Carlos Germán Muñoz Jara, from Ibarra, and his family claimed the body. No official statement naming him could be located.

Did United States forces kill the men?

No source says who fired. The official account describes SOUTHCOM, the US Southern Command, as providing support and coordination, while Ecuadorian Army units intercepted the vehicle. SOUTHCOM issued no statement of its own that could be located.

Where is El Aromo?

It is a sector near the city of Manta, in the coastal province of Manabí. The operation took place on the grounds of the Refinería del Pacífico, a refinery project that was never finished.