2024-01-11 07:01:00
The 22 narcoterrorist gangs that Ecuador declared as a military objective, after a wave of crimes that paralyzed that country last Tuesday, have had links for several years with criminal groups in Colombia.
Since 2021, its illegal operations have surpassed the mere interest of economic profit, to become a kind of parallel states that control vast territories from prisons.
When the new president, Daniel Noboa, declared the State of Exception on January 8, the retaliation of the armed groups was to carry out a kind of armed strike, similar to those that Colombia has suffered in its recent history at the hands of the Clan del Golfo. , the dissidents of the FARC, the ELN and even the First Line.
The criminals took over a television channel, five hospitals and nine prisons; They attacked the Public Force, killing and kidnapping police officers and prison guards; They attacked commercial establishments and incinerated vehicles in the streets; They spread panic on social networks and forced the closure of educational institutions, among other outrages.
Noboa issued another decree, No. 111 of 2024, in which he added to this State of Exception the recognition of an internal armed conflict and, consequently, ordered the Military Forces to “neutralize” the responsible groups. Which are?
From drug traffickers to terrorists
The Ecuadorian Government’s list includes 22 organizations, starting with “los Choneros”, one of the oldest. The faction emerged in 2000 in the city of Chone, in the province of Manabí.
At first it was a common crime gang, but after a decade it managed to insert itself into transnational drug trafficking dynamics, thanks to the support of Colombian, Balkan and Mexican drug traffickers.
“Los Choneros” went from robbing street corners to guarding large shipments of cocaine. They acquired state-of-the-art arsenals and took control of several prisons, with corruption networks in State institutions.
Internal divisions in that group led to the appearance of other important factions, which today act as their enemies: “the Lobos” and “the Chone Killers”, who according to police sources have partnerships with the Jalisco Nueva Generación cartel, while “the Choneros” are allied with the Sinaloa cartel.
These three organizations are followed in terms of danger and territorial dominance by “Los Lagartos”, “Águilas” and “Tiguerones”.
The list continues with “los Fatales”, “los R7”, “Águilas Killers”, “AK47”, “Dark Knights”, “Corvicheros”, “los Cubanos”, “los Gangters”, “Cuartel de las Feas”, “ los Patrones”, “Cater Pilar”, “Latin Kings”, “P-27”, “Tiburones”, “Mafia 18” and “Mafia Trébol”.
The authorities estimate that, together, these groups have 20,000 members imprisoned and released.
With support from the US, Ecuador opened a rewards program, called “Plan 131”. There, a price was put on the leaders of those gangs, the most persecuted being José Adolfo Macías Villamar (“Fito”), leader of “los Choneros”; and Fabricio Colón Pico (“Captain Pico”), the boss of “los Lobos”.
The first escaped on January 7 from the Guayas prison; and the second did the same two days later, from the Riobamba penitentiary.
Colombian partners
Ecuadorian gangs have partnerships with Colombian structures for drug trafficking, smuggling and hitmen businesses.
According to police reports, in addition to drug traffickers and independent networks with transnational connections, the Ecuadorians have alliances with the Central General Staff (EMC), through its Western Coordinating Command, which brings together the fronts of Nariño, Putumayo, Cauca and Valley; and with the Second Marquetalia, through its Oliver Sinisterra and Border Commandos fronts.
Although to a lesser extent, joint operations with the Clan del Golfo and the ELN have also been detected.
In general terms, Colombians provide the production and transformation of the coca leaf into cocaine, while Ecuadorians are responsible for collecting large shipments in their territory, to later transport them by air or sea, crossing the Pacific Ocean from Manabí, Guayaquil and Esmeraldas, especially.
Faced with the wave of terrorism in Ecuador, which in its first 48 hours left 14 dead, the Colombian Army and Police strengthened their surveillance at four points on the border with Nariño: Ipiales, Mataje, Carlosama and Cumbal.
Gustavo Petro’s government announced that it was supporting Noboa’s government. However, he requested that he receive 1.500 Colombian prisoners that he intended to expel from Ecuador as soon as possible, and the Minister of Justice, Néstor Osuna, replied that this was not possible without carrying out individual repatriation procedures.
If they are left at the border, as Noboa warned, they could be free, since many do not have pending files in Colombia.
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