Ecuador Detains Alleged Los Lobos Financier in 23 Raids

ECUADOR · SECURITY

President Daniel Noboa said “all of them will fall” after police and European partners hit an alleged Los Lobos cocaine network.

Ecuadorian police detained an alleged Los Lobos financier early on Thursday, 8 October, in raids targeting the US-listed terrorist gang’s network. The Interior Ministry said 21 people were held in 23 raids, mainly in the coastal provinces of Guayas and Los Ríos.

The case matters to US readers because Washington treats Los Lobos as both a terrorism and a sanctions target. Officials say the network used fruit, cacao, seafood and timber exporters to hide cocaine bound for Europe.

Who Is the Alleged Los Lobos Financier

The ministry named Jackson Felipe Zambrano as one of the main financiers of alias “Pipo” since 2022. Interior Minister John Reimberg, whose ministry oversees the National Police, gave the same description.

Zambrano was detained for investigation at a home in Plaza Lagos, in Samborondón next to Guayaquil, the daily El Universo reported. Officials have not announced charges against him, and the allegations have not been tested in court.

Pipo is Wilmer Chavarría, whom the US Treasury calls the leader of Los Lobos. Treasury says he was arrested in Spain on Sunday, 16 November 2025.

The ministry said the 21 detainees were 19 Ecuadorian citizens and two serving police officers. Reimberg said businesspeople and people well known in certain social circles were among them, the daily Expreso reported.

How the Alleged Network Worked

The ministry said the network had operated since 2019 in Guayas, Los Ríos and Pichincha. It allegedly bought cocaine from Colombian laboratories, moved it into Ecuador and shipped it by sea to Europe.

Officials say at least 15 companies exporting fruit, cacao, seafood and timber were used to hide the cargo. The ministry also cited links to Balkan crime groups, the Dutch-based “Mocro Maffia” and contacts in the United Arab Emirates.

The case began in October 2024, when about 13,000 cocaine packages were found in a container at the Spanish port of Algeciras. The container had left a terminal in Guayaquil, Ecuador’s main port city.

Investigators then tied 14 seizures, about 42.5 tonnes in all, to the group in Ecuador, Spain, Belgium, Portugal and the Netherlands. The ministry values that cocaine at about US$1.68 billion.

The ministry said two more loads of about 1.5 tonnes and 630 kilograms, worth about US$85 million, were seized in the operation. That brings the total to about US$1.765 billion, by the ministry’s count.

The National Police worked with the State Prosecutor’s Office, the EU police agency Europol, and Spain’s Guardia Civil and National Police. Officers seized phones, storage devices and business and financial records.

What Noboa Said

“All of them will fall: those who shoot, those who finance and those who hide behind companies,” Noboa wrote. El Universo and the news site Primicias published his social media post on Thursday.

Noboa, Ecuador’s president since November 2023, said the shipments paid for weapons, hitmen and violence. He credited the National Police, working with Europol and authorities in Spain, Belgium, Portugal and the Netherlands.

The US Terrorism Designation

The State Department designated Los Lobos and its former parent gang, Los Choneros, as Foreign Terrorist Organizations in September 2025. The listing took effect on Friday, 5 September 2025, on publication in the Federal Register.

Treasury says Los Lobos is believed to have built drug routes into Mexico through cartels such as Jalisco New Generation. Treasury had already sanctioned the gang in June 2024.

On 20 August 2026, Treasury sanctioned 15 Ecuador-based targets and 10 vessels in a network it linked to both gangs. It said that network moved cocaine to Mexico for sale in the United States.

US prosecutors in Southern California have also charged Chavarría, including with narco-terrorism, Primicias reported in September, citing court records. No US agency was named in Thursday’s operation.

What It Means for You

For US firms that buy Ecuadorian fruit, cacao, seafood or timber, the Los Lobos financier case is a reminder to screen suppliers. Knowingly giving material support to a listed terrorist group is a US federal crime.

Treasury says such sanctions block the property of listed parties in the United States or held by US persons. Its rules generally bar US persons, including banks, from transactions involving that property.

For travellers, the State Department rates Ecuador Level 2, exercise increased caution, in an advisory updated on 18 August 2026. It puts all of Guayaquil at Level 3 or 4 but does not name Samborondón.

What Is Not Known

Officials have not said what charges the alleged Los Lobos financier faces, or whether a judge has ordered him held. The names of the other 20 detainees and the 15 companies have not been published.

It is unclear whether anyone was arrested in Europe in the same operation. The ministry did not say where the two loads seized in the operation were found.

Noboa called the US$1.765 billion the value of shipments, while the ministry describes seized cocaine. No US role in the operation has been confirmed.

What Comes Next

The next step is a court hearing at which prosecutors can file charges against the detainees. No date had been published by Friday morning.

Chavarría remains in Spain, where his extradition is still being contested, Primicias reported in September. The arrests do not mean the gang’s leadership or its export routes have been dismantled.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Los Lobos?

Los Lobos is an Ecuadorian criminal group that split from Los Choneros, according to the US Treasury. The United States lists it as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.

Who is alias Pipo?

Pipo is the alias of the man the US Treasury calls the leader of Los Lobos. He was arrested in Spain in November 2025.

Who was detained on 8 October?

Officials named Jackson Felipe Zambrano as an alleged main financier of Pipo since 2022. Twenty other people, including two serving police officers, were also detained.

Was the United States involved?

Officials named Ecuadorian police and prosecutors, Europol and Spanish police, but no US agency. The US link is the 2025 terrorist listing and US charges against Pipo.

Is it safe to travel to Guayaquil?

The State Department rates Ecuador Level 2 overall but puts Guayaquil at Level 3 or Level 4. Check the latest advisory before any trip.

Sources: Ministry of the Interior of Ecuador; Federal Register, US State Department designation; US Treasury; US State Department travel advisory; El Universo; Primicias; Primicias, US case against Pipo; Expreso; Expreso, how the network operated (all accessed 9 October 2026).