Ecuador and US seek to repatriate drug lord 'Pipo' detained in Málaga
Quito and Washington are simultaneously processing the handover of José Chavarría, alleged leader of Los Lobos captured in Andalusian territory, before Spain.
Ecuador and US seek to repatriate drug lord 'Pipo' detained in Málaga
The Ecuadorian government is maintaining an active process for Spain to hand over José Chavarría, nicknamed "Pipo", who was arrested in Málaga last November. At the same time, the United States is also demanding his extradition, meaning three nations are involved in the legal dispute over the alleged drug trafficker.
John Reimberg, head of the Interior Ministry in Quito, stated to Élite radio that his administration will provide every piece of information that Spanish judges require. If his return to Ecuador is achieved, the individual would be sent without delay to North American territory, the minister indicated.
Andalusian authorities detained Chavarría in the capital of the Costa del Sol. Since then, both the Ecuadorian and United States prosecutors have submitted formal requests for his handover, which are currently being evaluated by the courts on the peninsula.
The defendant appears on Ecuador's registry of priority fugitives. The offences alleged against him include kidnapping followed by homicide, theft, and causing physical harm. Six years ago he was granted early release measures that ended a period of incarceration that began in 2011.
The investigations indicate that, after faking his death in 2021, the man went into hiding under another identity in the old continent. From that location, he allegedly directed executions on Ecuadorian soil and oversaw illegal gold mining alongside drug trafficking, in collusion with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
In early 2024, the Quito government designated twenty-two criminal organisations as terrorist entities, including Los Lobos. This measure was part of the state of internal armed conflict, which authorised joint intervention by uniformed officers and military personnel.
In the middle of that same year, the White House under Donald Trump added Los Lobos to its own list of terrorist organisations, establishing links with the aforementioned Mexican cartel.
Source: Univision
Source: Google News EC — Crime