# Michele Sensi-Contugi
**Michele Sensi-Contugi Ycaza** (12 August 1982 – 19 August 2026) was an Italian-Ecuadorian businessman and intelligence official who directed Ecuador's national intelligence agency from January 2024 until his death in a helicopter crash in Kenya, and who served briefly as Minister of Government under President Daniel Noboa.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | 1982, Italy; 19 August 2026, Samburu County, Kenya, aged 44[1](https://www.fides.org/en/news/78069-AMERICA_ECUADOR_Three_days_of_national_mourning_for_the_death_of_the_intelligence_chief_in_helicopter_crash_in_Kenya) |
| Citizenship | Dual Italian and Ecuadorian; Italian father, Ecuadorian mother[1](https://www.fides.org/en/news/78069-AMERICA_ECUADOR_Three_days_of_national_mourning_for_the_death_of_the_intelligence_chief_in_helicopter_crash_in_Kenya) |
| Intelligence post | Director General of the Centro de Inteligencia Estratégica (CIES) from 2 January 2024 (Decreto Ejecutivo 106), later the Centro Nacional de Inteligencia (CNI)[2](https://www.cni.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Informe-Preliminar-RC2024-004.pdf) |
| Minister of Government | 21 April 2024 to 16 August 2024, succeeding Mónica Palencia; succeeded by Arturo Félix Wong[3](https://www.expreso.ec/politica/michele-sensi-contugi-funcionario-confianza-daniel-noboa-292911.html) |
| Business career | General manager of Senco S.A. (rubber and plastic products, founded 2009); linked to Sensistudio S.A. and Prolab-Biotechnology[3](https://www.expreso.ec/politica/michele-sensi-contugi-funcionario-confianza-daniel-noboa-292911.html) • [4](https://www.corriere.it/cronache/26_agosto_20/incidente-elicottero-kenya-sensi-contugi-italiano-d38715ec-f2b0-4f16-90f3-9cef16d98xlk.shtml) |
| Death | One of seven people killed when a Eurocopter EC130 B4 (registration 5Y-GYM) crashed on a sightseeing flight near Mount Ololokwe[5](https://www.ecuavisa.com/amp/ecuador/muere-michele-sensi-contugi-kenia-20260819-0028.html) |
| Aftermath | Ecuador declared three days of national mourning; Luis Ávila was named delegate for the intelligence post[6](https://www.lahora.com.ec/politica/michele-sensi-contugi-a-que-examenes-se-someteran-los-restos-y-quien-lo-reemplazara-en-inteligencia-20260820-0047.html) |
## Background and business career
Sensi-Contugi was born in Italy in 1982 to an Italian father and an Ecuadorian mother, and held both Italian and Ecuadorian citizenship[1](https://www.fides.org/en/news/78069-AMERICA_ECUADOR_Three_days_of_national_mourning_for_the_death_of_the_intelligence_chief_in_helicopter_crash_in_Kenya). Italian reporting describes the Sensi Contugi family as an old noble family of Volterra, in Tuscany, whose descendants no longer live in the city[4](https://www.corriere.it/cronache/26_agosto_20/incidente-elicottero-kenya-sensi-contugi-italiano-d38715ec-f2b0-4f16-90f3-9cef16d98xlk.shtml).
Before entering government he worked in the private sector in [Guayaquil](https://www.edgepedia.org/guayaquil). According to the Superintendencia de Compañías, he was general manager of Senco S.A., a company founded in 2009 that manufactured rubber and plastic products for packaging, including bags, sacks, boxes, bottles, and jugs[3](https://www.expreso.ec/politica/michele-sensi-contugi-funcionario-confianza-daniel-noboa-292911.html). He was also linked to Sensistudio S.A., a Guayaquil wholesale commerce company, and to Prolab-[Biotechnology](https://www.edgepedia.org/biotechnology), a medical research and development firm[3](https://www.expreso.ec/politica/michele-sensi-contugi-funcionario-confianza-daniel-noboa-292911.html) • [4](https://www.corriere.it/cronache/26_agosto_20/incidente-elicottero-kenya-sensi-contugi-italiano-d38715ec-f2b0-4f16-90f3-9cef16d98xlk.shtml).
## Rise in the Noboa government
Sensi-Contugi was a personal friend and close adviser of President Daniel Noboa. Data from the Consejo Nacional Electoral recorded that in 2023 he contributed at least 25,000 dollars to Noboa's presidential campaign[4](https://www.corriere.it/cronache/26_agosto_20/incidente-elicottero-kenya-sensi-contugi-italiano-d38715ec-f2b0-4f16-90f3-9cef16d98xlk.shtml).
**Intelligence director.** On 2 January 2024, Noboa designated him Director General of the Centro de Inteligencia Estratégica (CIES) through Decreto Ejecutivo 106, replacing Fausto Cobo, a retired army colonel who had led the institution since September 2021 under President Guillermo Lasso[2](https://www.cni.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Informe-Preliminar-RC2024-004.pdf) • [3](https://www.expreso.ec/politica/michele-sensi-contugi-funcionario-confianza-daniel-noboa-292911.html). During the first months of 2024 Noboa also named him his delegate to the boards of six public companies: [Petroecuador](https://www.edgepedia.org/petroecuador), Celec, CNEL, Flopec, Astinave, and Santa Bárbara[3](https://www.expreso.ec/politica/michele-sensi-contugi-funcionario-confianza-daniel-noboa-292911.html).
**Minister of Government.** On 21 April 2024, Noboa appointed him [Minister](https://www.edgepedia.org/minister-government) of Government through Decreto Ejecutivo 231, replacing Mónica Palencia, who moved to the Ministry of the Interior exclusively[3](https://www.expreso.ec/politica/michele-sensi-contugi-funcionario-confianza-daniel-noboa-292911.html). While he held the ministry, Decreto Ejecutivo 233 also placed him in charge of the CIES directorate[3](https://www.expreso.ec/politica/michele-sensi-contugi-funcionario-confianza-daniel-noboa-292911.html). His ministerial tenure lasted about four months: on 16 August 2024 Noboa named Arturo Félix Wong as Minister of Government and reappointed Sensi-Contugi as head of the CIES through Decreto Ejecutivo 357[3](https://www.expreso.ec/politica/michele-sensi-contugi-funcionario-confianza-daniel-noboa-292911.html).
**CNI and later service.** On 27 May 2025 the president ratified him in the post through Decreto Ejecutivo 16; after an institutional reorganization, references to the Centro de Inteligencia Estratégica came to correspond to the Centro Nacional de Inteligencia (CNI)[3](https://www.expreso.ec/politica/michele-sensi-contugi-funcionario-confianza-daniel-noboa-292911.html). Agenzia Fides reported that in this role he was actively involved in combating drug-trafficking organizations that in recent years have turned Ecuador into one of the world's major hubs for cocaine trafficking[1](https://www.fides.org/en/news/78069-AMERICA_ECUADOR_Three_days_of_national_mourning_for_the_death_of_the_intelligence_chief_in_helicopter_crash_in_Kenya).
On 12 June 2026, Noboa signed Decreto Ejecutivo 421, ordering the Casa Militar Presidencial to prepare a report determining whether Sensi-Contugi, his spouse, and his relatives required special protection measures. The decree did not grant security automatically; it required a prior technical evaluation of threats related to his functions[3](https://www.expreso.ec/politica/michele-sensi-contugi-funcionario-confianza-daniel-noboa-292911.html).
## Death in Kenya
On 19 August 2026, Sensi-Contugi and his wife, [Stephany Hollihan](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephany-hollihan), died in a helicopter crash in Samburu County, a tourist area north of Nairobi[3](https://www.expreso.ec/politica/michele-sensi-contugi-funcionario-confianza-daniel-noboa-292911.html). The helicopter, carrying six passengers and a pilot, was on a sightseeing flight from the Loisaba Conservancy toward the Ewaso Nyiro area when it crashed for reasons that remained unknown near Mount Ololokwe[1](https://www.fides.org/en/news/78069-AMERICA_ECUADOR_Three_days_of_national_mourning_for_the_death_of_the_intelligence_chief_in_helicopter_crash_in_Kenya). The [Kenya Civil Aviation Authority](https://www.edgepedia.org/kenya-civil-aviation-authority) identified the aircraft as a Eurocopter EC130 B4 with registration 5Y-GYM, and said the Air Accident Investigation Department of the Ministry of Roads and [Transport](https://www.edgepedia.org/transport) was leading the investigation[5](https://www.ecuavisa.com/amp/ecuador/muere-michele-sensi-contugi-kenia-20260819-0028.html).
All seven people aboard died. Agenzia Fides listed the victims as two Ecuadorian nationals, the Kenyan pilot, and four US citizens[1](https://www.fides.org/en/news/78069-AMERICA_ECUADOR_Three_days_of_national_mourning_for_the_death_of_the_intelligence_chief_in_helicopter_crash_in_Kenya), while the United States government reported that five of its citizens died in the crash[7](https://www.nmas.com.mx/internacional/jefe-de-inteligencia-de-ecuador-muere-junto-a-su-esposa-asi-fue-el-accidente//). Ecuadorian authorities provided no details about the reason for Sensi-Contugi's presence in Kenya or the circumstances of his trip[1](https://www.fides.org/en/news/78069-AMERICA_ECUADOR_Three_days_of_national_mourning_for_the_death_of_the_intelligence_chief_in_helicopter_crash_in_Kenya).
## Aftermath
The Government of Ecuador declared three days of national mourning, and security protection was arranged for the official's children[6](https://www.lahora.com.ec/politica/michele-sensi-contugi-a-que-examenes-se-someteran-los-restos-y-quien-lo-reemplazara-en-inteligencia-20260820-0047.html). Infrastructure and Transport Minister Roberto Luque announced the deaths and wrote on X: "Hoy partieron muy pronto Michele y Stephany. Pienso en su familia, especialmente sus hijos y sus padres"[7](https://www.nmas.com.mx/internacional/jefe-de-inteligencia-de-ecuador-muere-junto-a-su-esposa-asi-fue-el-accidente//). Luis Ávila was named delegate for the intelligence post following the death[6](https://www.lahora.com.ec/politica/michele-sensi-contugi-a-que-examenes-se-someteran-los-restos-y-quien-lo-reemplazara-en-inteligencia-20260820-0047.html). [The Italian](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-italian) embassy in Kenya activated to provide assistance on site, and the Farnesina confirmed that Sensi-Contugi held Italian citizenship[4](https://www.corriere.it/cronache/26_agosto_20/incidente-elicottero-kenya-sensi-contugi-italiano-d38715ec-f2b0-4f16-90f3-9cef16d98xlk.shtml).
## References
1. [AMERICA/ECUADOR – Three days of national mourning for the death of the intelligence chief in helicopter crash in Kenya, Agenzia Fides](https://www.fides.org/en/news/78069-AMERICA_ECUADOR_Three_days_of_national_mourning_for_the_death_of_the_intelligence_chief_in_helicopter_crash_in_Kenya)
2. [Informe Preliminar RC2024-004, Centro Nacional de Inteligencia (Ecuador)](https://www.cni.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Informe-Preliminar-RC2024-004.pdf)
3. [¿Quién era Michele Sensi-Contugi, director de Inteligencia que murió en Kenia?, Diario Expreso](https://www.expreso.ec/politica/michele-sensi-contugi-funcionario-confianza-daniel-noboa-292911.html)
4. [Incidente in elicottero in Kenya, muoiono 7 persone, Corriere della Sera](https://www.corriere.it/cronache/26_agosto_20/incidente-elicottero-kenya-sensi-contugi-italiano-d38715ec-f2b0-4f16-90f3-9cef16d98xlk.shtml)
5. [Michele Sensi-Contugi, director del Centro Nacional de Inteligencia, murió en accidente aéreo en Kenia, Ecuavisa](https://www.ecuavisa.com/amp/ecuador/muere-michele-sensi-contugi-kenia-20260819-0028.html)
6. [Michele Sensi-Contugi: ¿a qué exámenes se someterán los restos y quién lo reemplazará en Inteligencia?, La Hora](https://www.lahora.com.ec/politica/michele-sensi-contugi-a-que-examenes-se-someteran-los-restos-y-quien-lo-reemplazara-en-inteligencia-20260820-0047.html)
7. [Jefe de Inteligencia de Ecuador muere junto a su esposa: así fue el accidente, N+](https://www.nmas.com.mx/internacional/jefe-de-inteligencia-de-ecuador-muere-junto-a-su-esposa-asi-fue-el-accidente//)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Conflict and security › Military and security biographies › Spies, intelligence officers, and covert agents › Intelligence leaders and officials*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license