QUITO, Jan 24 (Reuters) - The United States filed charges against the alleged leader of the powerful Ecuadorean drug trafficking gang Los Lobos, paving the way for his direct extradition from Spain to the U.S., Ecuador’s interior minister said.
Interior Minister John Reimberg said on X late on Friday that the U.S. Attorney’s Office had initiated proceedings against Wilmer Geovanny Chavarria Barre, known as “Pipo,” following what he described as “strategic and firm” international coordination.
Reimberg said the move showed that there were “no shelters, no borders and no impunity” for criminal leaders.
Chavarria was arrested in the Spanish city of Malaga in November in a joint operation of Ecuadorean and Spanish police, authorities said at the time. President Daniel Noboa announced his capture on November 16, calling it a key success in his government’s efforts to combat powerful criminal gangs.
Los Lobos is one of Ecuador’s largest drug trafficking groups and was designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States in September, along with rival gang Los Choneros.
Ecuadorean authorities have accused Chavarria of overseeing drug routes linked to Mexico’s Jalisco New Generation Cartel and of controlling illegal mining operations.
Officials have also said Chavarria faked his death, assumed a new identity and hid in Europe while continuing to order killings in Ecuador. Reimberg has previously said Chavarria was responsible for at least 400 deaths and directed criminal operations even while imprisoned between 2011 and 2019.
Noboa has pursued a hard-line security strategy, including deploying the military to confront gangs, as Ecuador faces its worst wave of violence in decades. Analysts say the arrest of gang leaders can fuel further bloodshed as rival groups fight for territory and influence.
(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia, writing by Cassandra GarrisonEditing by Tomasz Janowski)
