Operation Muralla: four leaders of Comandos de la Frontera captured in Ecuador
Four alleged leaders of the dissident group Comandos de la Frontera were detained on 15 October in simultaneous operations in Orellana, Sucumbíos and Guayas.
Four Comandos de la Frontera leaders detained following 14 raids in three provinces
Four alleged leaders of Comandos de la Frontera were captured in Ecuador on 15 October 2026, according to primicias.ec. The arrests resulted from Operation Muralla, which included 14 simultaneous raids in the provinces of Orellana, Sucumbíos and Guayas, and involved the participation of 122 police officers and 14 prosecutors.
The detainees are identified in the investigation under the aliases Mazón, Meneses, Raquetilla and Coche, and are indicated as members of the organisation's logistical and operational structure.
Linked to 19 deaths, including 11 soldiers in Alto Punino
Interior Minister John Reimberg announced the operation in the early hours of Thursday and stated that the organisation would be linked to drug trafficking, arms trafficking, illegal mining and acts of terrorism. Investigations link them to violent incidents that left 19 victims dead: the 11 soldiers massacred in Alto Punino and three police officers in Joya de los Sachas, in addition to another 25 deaths recorded in Orellana, Sucumbíos and Joya de los Sachas.
"This operation is not an isolated event. It is the result of investigative work aimed at dismantling the entire organisation, its collaborators, its logistical intermediaries and its capacity to mobilise men and arms between Colombia and Ecuador," Reimberg stated on X.
Noboa: "Bringing those responsible to justice is honouring their memory"
Following the arrests, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa also commented on the operation. "In June 2025, alias El Gerente fell. Today, the Security Bloc captured other members of Comandos de la Frontera, the group that ambushed and murdered 11 of our soldiers in Alto Punino and 3 police officers in La Joya de los Sachas," he declared. "Our soldiers and police officers gave their lives fighting them. Bringing those responsible to justice is honouring their memory and fulfilling our commitment to their families."
Almost one and a half years of police and prosecutorial investigation
According to Reimberg, the National Police, in coordination with the General Prosecutor's Office, managed to identify the criminal structure, chain of command and logistical networks of the organisation over the course of almost a year and a half of investigative work. The detainees would be responsible for planning, financing and facilitating the crimes attributed to the group.
The minister also indicated that the operation adds to an economic impact exceeding 600 million dollars against the organisation, according to information consolidated in the investigation.
FARC dissident group active in Ecuador and Peru
Comandos de la Frontera is a splinter faction of the now-extinct guerrilla force Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), comprised of members who rejected the peace agreement signed in 2016. The group operates in border areas of Ecuador and Peru with Colombia, and is linked to drug trafficking and other illegal activities in the region.
Reimberg emphasised that the four captured individuals are part of both the executive arm and the sector that planned and financed the group's operations between Colombia and Ecuador.
Source: Google News EC — Crime