"Lobo Menor" deported to Ecuador after capture in Mexico for Villavicencio murder
Colombia expelled Ángel Esteban Aguilar Morales, alias "Lobo Menor", suspected of the murder of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio in 2023. He arrived in Guayaquil on a charter flight and will remain in maximum-security prison.
"Lobo Menor" arrives in Ecuador under police custody after being expelled from Colombia
Colombia deported on Thursday Ecuadorian Ángel Esteban Aguilar Morales, alias "Lobo Menor", suspected of taking part in the murder of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, which occurred on 9 August 2023. According to chicagotribune.com, Aguilar Morales had been captured in Mexico City and previously transferred to Bogotá before being expelled to his country of origin.
Colombian police indicated in a statement that the detainee was taken to Bogotá's El Dorado international airport under intense security measures, and that his deportation was carried out on a charter flight managed by the Ecuadorian government.
Colombian authorities identify Aguilar Morales as one of the alleged leaders of Los Lobos, an Ecuadorian criminal gang considered highly dangerous. According to Colombian police, the suspect "coordinated criminal cells, logistics and ordered the execution of criminal actions". Interpol had issued a red notice against him to search for him as a fugitive at the international level.
In a video released by Colombian police, an officer informed Aguilar Morales of his legal situation and communicated to him that Ecuador decided not to present a formal extradition request, which is why he was placed at the disposal of the Colombian immigration authority to proceed with the expulsion.
Upon arriving at the port city of Guayaquil, Ecuador's Interior Minister John Reimberg announced that he plans to "speak with the United States to put him on the extraditable list; he must be extradited". While that situation is resolved, Aguilar Morales will remain detained in the El Encuentro prison, which has maximum security, under a strong police operation guarding him.
Reimberg described the detainee as a "dangerous criminal not only for the country, but for the entire region", and noted that he will have to face accusations of homicide, drug trafficking, extortion and evasion of justice on Ecuadorian soil.
Authorities detected Aguilar Morales's presence in Mexico after tracking him with support from Colombian intelligence. They located him in the Miguel Hidalgo borough in the Mexican capital, where he was operating under a false identity as a Colombian citizen. The Mexican government confirmed the day before his capture in that territory.
On Wednesday he was transported by air to Bogotá, although authorities did not clarify whether Mexico formally expelled him or why he was not taken directly to Ecuador.
The Ecuadorian prosecution presented in February new evidence to link three suspects in the Villavicencio case, including Aguilar Morales, who allegedly had logistical and operational involvement in the crime. Villavicencio was murdered when leaving a political rally in the north of Quito.
Source: Google News EC — Crime