Fernando Villavicencio pledged to combat ‘cocaine pipeline’ to Europe that street gangs develop with Albanian criminals
Ecuador was once called an island of peace in a region plagued by instability, but in recent years the country has become a hub for international drug traffickers, who have joined forces with local street gangs and unleashed a wave of violence unlike anything in its history.
Wednesday’s assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio cements Ecuador’s descent into criminal chaos. The gang alleged to be behind the murder has close ties to Albanian factions that ship cocaine to the UK, as well as to Mexican drug cartels. Los Lobos, or the Wolves, are thought to include up to 8,000 members, most of whom run their criminal underworld from Ecuadorian prisons.
Mr Villavicencio was an outspoken critic of alleged links between organised crime and politics in his country. The 59-year-old was one of eight presidential candidates in elections scheduled for Aug 20.
Much of the record 19,000 kilos of cocaine that were seized in the UK last year are likely to have been sourced by Albanian factions that work with Los Lobos and other Ecuadorian gangs to ship the drug to British shores, often via ports in Belgium or the Netherlands.