How a murder in Ecuador led to British drug gangs

Fernando Villavicencio was shot dead as he left a campaign rally in Quito on Wednesday

Ecuador was once called the island of peace in a region plagued by instability , but in recent years the country has become a hub for international drug traffickers who have teamed up with local street gangs and unleashed a wave of violence never seen before in its history.

Wednesday's assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio exacerbates Ecuador's plunge into criminal chaos. The gang allegedly behind the murder has close ties to Albanian cocaine trafficking groups in the UK, as well as Mexican drug cartels. Los Lobos, or the Wolves, are believed to have up to 8,000 members, most of whom run the underworld from Ecuadorian prisons.

Mr. Villavicencio has been an outspoken critic of alleged links between organized crime and politics in ​his country. The 59-year-old was one of eight presidential candidates in the August 20 election.

Much of the record 19,000kg of cocaine seized in the UK last year was likely obtained by Albanian gangs who are partnering with Los Lobos and other Ecuadorian gangs to bring drugs to British shores, often through ports in Belgium or the Netherlands. .

The National Crime Agency says violent Albanian gangs dominate the British underworld. They negotiate directly with South American manufacturers and deliver cocaine directly to dealers on the streets of British cities and towns.

“Ecuador is a valuable territory, guaranteeing the supply of cocaine to the US and Europe, bypassing the growing interception efforts in Colombia. ports,” said Mauricio Jaramillo, professor of international relations at the University of El Rosario in Bogota.

Mr Villavicencio pledged to strengthen ties with the UK as part of his campaign. He believed that his country needed help in the fight against organized crime.

«Ecuador's police and military lack experience in dealing with drug trafficking,» Professor Jaramillo added. «And the gangs can take advantage of it.»

Fierce territorial rivalry

International traffickers rely on local gangs in Ecuador to help them transport cocaine and provide security. Authorities believe the Mexican Sinaloa cartel has close ties to Los Choneros, the country's largest gang, while their rivals, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, have made alliances with Los Lobos. Both Ecuadorian gangs are known to cooperate with European criminal structures present in the country, responsible for certain trafficking routes.

They have created a fierce territorial rivalry to become the largest and best among Ecuadorian street gangs. Working with traffickers from abroad is profitable and helps gangs increase their influence.

Last year, local gangs told The Telegraph that Mexicans often paid them for their services with guns rather than cash. This increased their propensity for violence and made their rivalry bloodier.

In the port city of Guayaquil, the epicenter of much of the violence in Ecuador, the murder rate has doubled to 34.1 per 100,000 inhabitants, making it one of the most most dangerous cities in the world. In February 2022, two bodies were found hanging from a footbridge connecting the city to the neighboring city of Duran. Police say the killings were linked to the seizure of more than 7 tons of cocaine. Such executions, imitating the infamous Mexican cartels, send a clear signal of defiance.