Ecuador arrests leader of powerful cartel targeted by U.S.
Carlos D, widely known by his alias "El Chino," was the second-in-command of Los Lobos (The Wolves) and "considered a high-value target," the armed forces said in a statement.
A large amount of cash was found at his home, along with armored vehicles, drugs and weapons. The armed forces released images of the arrest on social media, showing a shirtless "El Chino" and at least two other detained suspects.
"His arrest represents a strategic blow against the structure of this organized armed group," the military said in a statement.
The United States last year declared Los Lobos to be the largest drug trafficking organization in Ecuador, which has gone from being one of South America's most stable nations to among its most violent in just a few years due to a surge in narcotics operations.
While announcing sanctions against Los Lobos, U.S. officials said the gang "contributes significantly to the violence gripping the country" and its network includes thousands of members backed by Mexico's Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación — New Generation — and Sinaloa Cartel, which makes the gang particularly dangerous.
Last year, the authorities seized a record 294 tons of drugs in raids, mostly cocaine originating in neighboring Colombia and Peru, which is smuggled to Europe and the United States through the port of Guayaquil.
Los Lobos has a presence in 16 of Ecuador's 24 provinces, where it also engages in illegal gold mining, according to the non-governmental group Insight Crime.
Jailed Los Lobos members are the de facto rulers of several Ecuadoran prisons, often directing operations on the outside from behind bars.
Authorities also have accused the group of links to the murder of anti-corruption presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, who was killed while leaving a rally in Quito in August 2023.
Just last month, two boys were found dead near an Ecuador military base. The disappearance of the boys, aged between 11 and 15, sparked protests in the South American nation, which is in the throes of an armed struggle between narco gangs and security forces.
In January 2024, President Daniel Noboa declared a state of "internal armed conflict" after a brutal wave of violence, sparked by the jailbreak of a powerful crime boss.
The move came after gunmen stormed and opened fire in a TV studio and bandits threatened random executions of civilians and security forces. A prosecutor investigating the assault was later shot dead
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