Ecuador Apprehends Drug Lord After Faking His Death
Noboa identified the detained kingpin as Wilmer "Pipo" Chavarria, who allegedly adopted a false identity before fleeing the nation.
Chavarria faces accusations of orchestrating assassinations throughout Ecuador, overseeing illicit mining enterprises, and supervising critical narcotics corridors in partnership with Mexico's Jalisco Nueva Generacion cartel.
Interior Minister John Reimberg stated Chavarria bears responsibility for no fewer than 400 killings.
Police chief Pablo Vinicio Davila Maldonado confirmed the takedown occurred in Malaga, Spain.
According to Noboa, law enforcement successfully tracked down Chavarria despite widespread accounts declaring him deceased in 2021.
He praised the coordinated efforts between Ecuadorian and Spanish National Police, describing international collaboration as "a necessity" in combating transnational criminal networks.
"We have captured the highest-value target. Today the mafias fall back. Today Ecuador wins," he declared.
US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau congratulated Ecuador for apprehending "one of the most notorious organized crime figures in Latin America."
Landau added that when governments fail to actively combat crime, "it's because they're complicit."
Los Lobos, which maintains ties to US-designated terrorist organizations Cartel de Sinaloa and Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, received Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist designations from Washington in September.
The US cited the organization for targeting public officials, security forces, and journalists in Ecuador as part of its strategy to dominate drug trafficking corridors traversing the country.
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