Ecuador's intelligence chief and wife die in helicopter crash in Kenya; 5 Americans also killed

Michele Sensi-Contugi, the head of Ecuador's Strategic Information Center and a close associate of President Daniel Noboa, died along with his wife in a helicopter crash in Kenya on Wednesday. The accident claimed the lives of seven other individuals, including five American citizens and the Kenyan pilot.

The helicopter, operated by the safari company Tropic Air, crashed around 9:13 a.m. local time in a mountainous region at the foot of Mount Ololokwe. According to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, the aircraft was on a leisure flight between the Loisaba nature reserve and Ewaso Nyiro, a river that flows through several protected areas in the country.

Among the American victims was NBCUniversal journalist José Alberto Suárez. The Ecuadorian presidency expressed its condolences for the "sensitive passing" of Sensi-Contugi and his wife, Stephany Hollihan. Former Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso also paid tribute to the couple.

Sensi-Contugi held several key positions within President Noboa's administration. He was appointed Minister of the Interior in April 2024 and had previously led the Strategic Information Center (CIES), returning to head the institution later. Official documents from 2025 and 2026 listed him as the general director of CIES, where he was involved in national security matters. Given his role, the Ecuadorian government had ordered an assessment of the need for special protection for him and his family in June 2026.

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The National Government expresses its most heartfelt condolences over the sensitive passing of Michele Sensi-Contugi and his wife Stephany Hollihan.