'Pipo' finally detained: Ecuador's top-wanted drug dealer arrested in EU
Illustrative photo: drug lord arrest (Getty Images)
The leader of the Ecuadorian drug cartel Los Lobos, Wilmer Chavarría, known as "Pipo", has been detained in Spain after years of hiding and even faking his own death, according to AP.
According to Ecuadorian authorities and Spanish police, he was detained on 16 November, several years after he faked his own death and disappeared from the view of law enforcement.
The president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, stated that Wilmer Chavarría was detained in the city of Malaga during a joint operation with Spain’s law enforcement. The Spanish national police released a photo showing Chavarría in a black tracksuit being escorted to a service vehicle.
Who is Wilmer Geovanni Chavarría Barre
Wilmer Geovanni Chavarría Barre, known as "Pipo", leads one of Ecuador’s largest criminal groups. Los Lobos, which numbers around 8,000 fighters. The group is involved in drug trafficking, extortion, control over gold mining sites, and contract killings.
Recently, the US officially designated los lobos as a terrorist organization.
The cartel has been linked to numerous political killings in Ecuador and cooperation with the Mexican cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG), as well as other major criminal networks. Its activities have caused hundreds of deaths in Ecuador, including attacks on politicians, journalists, and local officials.
Chavarría was imprisoned from 2011 to 2018, but after his release, he continued coordinating cartel operations. In 2021, he allegedly faked his own death during the COVID-19 pandemic and moved to Europe, changing documents and obtaining a new identity.
Crime situation in Ecuador
In the early 2010s, Ecuador was considered one of the safest countries in South America.
However, in recent years, the level of violent crime has risen sharply. The country has become a key transit hub for cocaine produced in neighboring Colombia and Peru, and the cartels’ struggle for control over ports and the coastline has turned into a wave of killings targeting politicians, journalists, and officials.
The arrest of Chavarría coincided with a major constitutional referendum. Citizens were asked, among other things, whether to allow foreign military bases to be located in Ecuador.
President Noboa emphasizes that such a reform is needed to strengthen international cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking and to deter criminal groups that are increasingly active in the country.
As a reminder, Trump is preparing to send troops to Mexico for operations against drug cartels.
In April, NBC News, citing sources, reported that the US is considering the possibility of carrying out drone strikes against cartels in Mexico.
