Alleged Leader of Top Ecuadorian Cartel Arrested in Spain After Years on the Run

The Ecuadorian government delivered a significant blow to organized crime over the weekend after arresting the leader of Los Lobos, considered the country's most powerful and violent criminal group.

In a statement on X, President Daniel Noboa confirmed the capture of Wilmer Geovanny Chavarría Barré, also known as "Pipo." Noboa described him as the region's most wanted criminal and the top figure behind Los Lobos.

"We have captured the highest-value target. Today the mafias retreat. Today Ecuador wins," Noboa wrote.

Chavarría was arrested in Spain as part of a coordinated operation between Ecuador's National Police and Spanish authorities. According to Defense Minister John Reimberg, Pipo is believed to be responsible for at least 400 deaths and is accused of ordering assassinations, running illegal gold mining operations and trafficking narcotics with support from the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), Mexico's most powerful drug trafficking organization.

Ecuadorian officials said Chavarría Barré had previously faked his death and assumed a new identity to hide in Europe while continuing to direct his criminal network from abroad.

According to different reports, Pipo was captured in the city of Málaga after several years on the run. He had reportedly faked his death in 2021 and underwent as many as seven facial surgeries in an effort to avoid detection.

After serving time between 2011 and 2019, Chavarría moved his criminal operations to Spain and Dubai. Reimberg said Pipo arrived in Europe in 2022 to oversee a narcotics trafficking scheme that reached the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Mexico and Colombia.

Last year, the United States sanctioned Los Lobos and Pipo for overseeing international drug trafficking operations, carrying out contract killings and fueling the surge of violence that continues to destabilize Ecuador.

As reported earlier this year by The Latin Times, Ecuadorian gangs have worked with Mexican cartels for more than two decades. These alliances allowed groups such as Los Lobos to strengthen trafficking routes and expand their operations to other continents.

According to intelligence reports, Los Lobos began as a group of hitmen working for their now-rival gang Los Choneros. After the 2020 assassination of a Los Choneros leader, Los Lobos split from the group and evolved into an organization focused on drug trafficking, illegal gold mining and murder for hire. The group is believed to have orchestrated the assassination of 2023 Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio.

The partnership between Los Lobos and CJNG went beyond drug shipments, and U.S. and Ecuadorian authorities say the Jalisco cartel also supplied the group with weapons, training and strategic support, which allowed Los Lobos to surpass Los Choneros as Ecuador's most dangerous criminal organization.

As reported by Infobae, Ecuadorian officials estimate that Los Lobos has more than 8,000 members operating in 16 of the country's 24 provinces. Their alliance with CJNG also led to the creation of additional criminal cells across the country, groups that have contributed to the ongoing violence.

Pipo's arrest in Spain follows the recent capture and extradition of other Ecuadorian crime leaders. In June, José Adolfo Macías Villamar, known as Fito, was arrested in the city of Manta after more than a year on the run.

Fito was extradited to the United States in July and faces seven charges, including conspiracy to distribute cocaine internationally and smuggling firearms from the United States.