Ecuador has apprehended the leader of one of the country’s largest drug trafficking gangs, Los Lobos, in a joint operation with Spanish authorities, President Daniel Noboa announced on Sunday (Nov 16). Wilmer Geovanny Chavarria Barre, known as “Pipo,” leads a powerful criminal network that the US designated as a foreign terrorist organization in September, along with its rival gang, Los Choneros.

According to Noboa, Chavarria oversaw illegal mining activities and drug routes in collaboration with Mexico’s Jalisco New Generation Cartel. He reportedly faked his death, assumed a new identity, and hid in Europe while continuing to order killings in Ecuador. “Some thought he was dead; we found him in his own hell,” Noboa wrote on social media, thanking Spanish authorities for their role in the operation, which Ecuador’s police chief said occurred in Malaga.

Interior Minister John Reimberg noted in a separate post that Chavarria was linked to at least 400 deaths and had run criminal operations from prison between 2011 and 2019. Noboa has pursued a militarized approach to curb rising gang violence in a country once regarded as one of Latin America’s safest. Analysts warn that the capture of gang leaders can intensify violence as rival groups vie for control. Ecuadorians voted on Sunday on whether to allow the return of foreign military bases, which Noboa says are crucial in combating organized crime.