They are called “The Wolves“, And Lupiand in their videos, such as the one in which they claimed responsibility for the assassination of the candidate for the next presidential elections of Ecuador, Fernando Villavicenciothey appear hooded, armed and doing the gesture of the horns. They are criminals recruited in the worst prisons in the country, they form one of the most dangerous and powerful gangs in theEcuador and in that video so full of symbolism they launch a message of war to their adversaries, to the security forces and to the whole country: with this excellent murder their strategy of terror to hit politiciansaccording to their vision, unfaithful and corrupt.
Il symbolism this is what is first of all noticeable by looking at the images released by the group. Dozens of militiamen armed to the teeth proudly waving their horns. It’s not just any move, but a way to mark the territory. With that symbol, which recalls the style of Chinese shadows, they covered the cities of the country and especially the areas they control. A parallel war between gangs, since each one has its own reference image, to show everyone who’s in charge on those streets. And the horns, with the middle, ring and thumb touching, represent just the wolf facethe symbol of the group.
The affiliations on which Los Lobos can count are numerous: it is estimated that at least 8 thousand members of the group are in prison are responsible for the various massacres which took place in the prisons of the country which saw various criminal gangs oppose each other, with the killing of more than one 315 inmates only in 2021, and generate a real crisis of prison violence. Their influence in Ecuador is such that Los Lobos are able to compete for the check of prisonsinvest in drug trafficking and even on the illegal mining sector.
With the death of the leader of the Chonerosthe most important criminal group in the country, which took place in 2020Los Lobos have tapped the power vacuum created in the criminal sectors to present itself as the representation of new generation criminal and, with a series of attacks coordinated in prisons against the weakened leadership of the Choneros, they managed to establish themselves as one of the most important gangs active in Ecuador in the battle for control of the trafficking of cocainealso boasting of alleged relations with the Mexican cartel Jalisco New Generation. In April of 2022the big boss of Los Lobos, Manuel FCwas arrested at Ibarra together with some collaborators, a city about one hundred kilometers from the capital, with aspecial operation which involved the raid of the police forces in three different cities at the same time.
As reported by the portal Insight Crimethe areas of the country where Los Lobos operated were the Amazon province of pastathe cities of Latacunga e Cuenca and the coastal city of Machalabut it is assumed that their influence in recent months has expanded, touching new zones key and confirming interest in their main source of income: lo shiftthrough Ecuador, of cocaine purchased by Mexican and Colombian cartels. Interests and actions such as those carried out by this gang make Ecuador a so-called “conveyor beltof Colombian cocaine intended for European markets e Americans. About a third of Colombian cocaine leaves South America starting from the Ecuadorian portssignificantly increasing the strategic role of this state for world drug trafficking.
The activities of Los Lobos are crucial in this sense, as they are structurally based on the protection of consignments of drugs to port cities and the service of debt collection. But also to accomplish murders on behalf of other groups, responding to a dense chain of interests and alignments made up of alliances e enmities between gangs. Los Lobos participate however also in the micro-traffic in major Ecuadorian cities such as Quito, Guayaquil e Quevedoas well as managing a part of the illegal mining sector, concentrated above all in the northern area of Imbabura, by applying a 10% tax on all extracted minerals and obtaining a good part of the criminal income from this activity.