Image source, Spanish National Police/X
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- author, Ion Wells
- Author title, Correspondent in South America
The alleged leader of one of Ecuador’s largest drug trafficking gangs has been arrested in a joint operation carried out by Spanish and Ecuadorian police, the South American country’s president, Daniel Noboa, said.
The Spanish National Police confirmed that Wilmer “Bebo” Chavarria, who is considered the leader of the Los Lobos group, was arrested in the city of Malaga, where he arrived from Morocco under a false identity.
President Noboa said Chavarria faked his death and was hiding in Europe under a false identity while continuing to control criminal operations in Ecuador such as illegal mining and murders.
His family had claimed in 2021 that he died of a heart attack due to Covid.
Both Ecuador and the United States consider Los Lobos a terrorist organization.
Noboa celebrated on his account
Noboa congratulated himself, saying: “We have achieved the most valuable goal. Today the mafia retreats. Today Ecuador wins.”
Referendum in Ecuador
Pepo’s downfall occurred precisely on the same day that Ecuadorians voted in a plebiscite to reform the constitution promoted by Noboa and which included approving tougher measures against crime.
In a post on
Los Lobos has an estimated 8,000 members and is one of the most powerful criminal organizations in Ecuador.
In June 2024, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the gang, describing it as a group with “thousands of members” that had significantly contributed to increased violence in Ecuador.
Violence and killings have escalated in Ecuador in recent years after it became a major center for cocaine trafficking and rival gangs compete to control it. The country does not produce this drug, but it is located next to major drug-producing countries such as Peru and Colombia.
Image source, Gianna Benalcazar/EPA
President Noboa has encouraged harsh military repression against criminal gangs and his constitutional reform seeks to lift the ban on establishing foreign bases in the country. Noboa advocates that this would help fight crime.
The United States maintained a base on Ecuador’s Pacific coast until 2009, when then-leftist President Rafael Correa did not renew it and emphasized its ban in the constitution.
US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem recently toured military installations in Ecuador.
President Noboa told the BBC earlier this year that he wanted the US and European militaries to join his “war” against what he called “narco-terrorists.”
The United States has significantly expanded its military operations in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. It has deployed troops and a naval strike force centered around the aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford in the region.
In addition, it carried out at least 20 attacks against suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean, killing at least 80 people.
No evidence has yet been provided about the people on board, and some lawyers say the attacks could violate international law.
Several members of the Los Lobos family are in prison, where they are believed to have incited some of the bloodiest riots in Ecuador’s modern history.
They are believed to have ties and illicit business with the powerful Mexican cartel Jalisco Nueva Generation.
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