Los Choneros is an organized crime syndicate and drug cartel based in the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador, with a notable presence along much of the country's coastline. The gang is known for its involvement in organized crime, including drug trafficking, extortion, and robbery. Many of its members have been on the Ecuadorian most wanted list and its original leaders have been imprisoned or killed. Their main business is moving cocaine to the United States.
Los Choneros | |
| Founded | 2005 |
|---|---|
| Founded by | Jorge Bismark Véliz España |
| Founding location | Chone, Ecuador |
| Years active | 2005−present |
| Ethnicity | Ecuadorians |
| Leader(s) | Jorge Véliz X (2005–2007) Jorge Luis Zambrano (2007–2020) X José Adolfo Macías Villamar[1] (since 2020) |
| Criminal activities | |
| Allies | Sinaloa Cartel Clan del Golfo[2] Urías Rondón Front[3] |
| Rivals |
|
On 9 January 2024, an armed conflict in Ecuador broke out after gangleader José Villamar escaped from prison and around 30 top officials were arrested by an anti-corruption and drug trafficking operation.[4] The country's government declared a situation of inner war against several organized crime groups, most notably Los Choneros.
History
editThe Choneros may have originated in Chone[5] or Manta, sometime in the 1990s.[6] Initially it was a gang of young adults with eight members, aged between 18 and 30 years. Its founder and first leader was Jorge Bismark Véliz España, known as Chonero or Teniente España, said to have started out as a drug dealer in the city's barrios.
Carlos Jesús Cedeño Vera, known alternatively as El Rojo or El Quesero, the head of the Los Queseros gang, fell out with Bismark, one of its members, at a party and ordered his murder, which was attempted that night. Bismark and his daughter were wounded and his wife was killed. Bismark, along with family members, friends, and criminal associates, collectively Los Choneros, including the gang's future leader, Jorge Luis Zambrano, then a Los Choneros hitman, murdered Vera's brother and son, Jhonny Verdy Cedeño Vera and Cristhian Jonathan Cedeño Briones. In the ensuing war, Los Queseros were exterminated. Several from Los Choneros survived, allowing them to continue with organized crime.[7]
Los Choneros is believed to work as the armed wing of Sinaloa Cartel within Ecuador. Their main business is drug trafficking, especially of cocaine. Since 2011, the Choneros have also been present in prisons around the country. The organization is well organized nationwide and includes Ecuadorian security officials and politicians.[5][8]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Mella, Carolina (13 August 2023). "Los Choneros: Fito, the gang leader who threatened to kill candidate Fernando Villavicencio, moved to maximum security prison". El País. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ^ "Fito, la mente maestra del crimen que pone en jaque a Ecuador". France24. 10 January 2024.
- ^ "Unmasking the Foreign Players on Ecuador's Criminal Chessboard". Insight Crime. 7 March 2024.
- ^ "High-ranking officials held in Ecuador drug trafficking, corruption raids". BNamericas.com. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
- ^ a b Crime, InSight (4 October 2021). "Choneros". InSight Crime. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
- ^ Carrión, Stalin (30 December 2020). "13 años le duró el 'reinado' a Rasquiña". Extra (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
- ^ ""Los Choneros", más de una década de violencia". El diario.ec (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 June 2019.
- ^ Schmidt, Samantha (10 January 2024). "Ecuador TV station stormed by gunmen, president declares state of conflict". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 10 January 2024.