Families of people who vanished during Ecuadorian military operations say they are being stonewalled by authorities as they search for answers. In one case, Jonathan Villon, a 31-year-old father of three from Guayaquil (Ecuador's largest port city), was last seen on 9 December 2024 after being forced into a military vehicle, an incident captured on security cameras and a neighbour's mobile phone footage. Despite the family recording the vehicle's licence plates and providing video evidence to prosecutors, the Ministry of Defence has refused to cooperate with the investigation, leaving his partner, children, and siblings without any official account of what happened to him.