Los Tiguerones

Last updated
Los Tiguerones
Founded2020
Territory Esmeraldas, Ecuador
Membership Nueva Generación
Activities Narcotrafficking, assassinations, extortion, human trafficking, money laundering, murder, assault, arms trafficking, kidnapping
Allies Los Chone Killers, Los Lobos, Jalisco New Generation Cartel
Rivals Los Choneros

Los Tiguerones are an Ecuadorian crime syndicate that specializes in drug trafficking activities, assassinations, and other crimes. The group split from Los Choneros in 2020, along with Los Lobos and Los Chone Killers following the murder of Los Choneros leader Jorge Luis Zambrano. The group is based in Esmeraldas.

Contents

History

When Los Choneros leader Zambrano was killed in 2020, Los Chone Killers and several other gangs split off due to disagreements with the leadership of José Adolfo Macías Villamar. [1] Clashes and massacres in prisons across Ecuador broke out in the wake of the split. [1]

In 2021, Los Tiguerones, along with other gangs formerly allied to Los Choneros, including Los Chone Killers, Los Pipos, and Los Lobos, announced the creation of an alliance dubbed Nueva Generación after an alliance with Jalisco New Generation Cartel. [2] [3]

On 28 September 2021, a dispute between Los Lobos and Los Choneros in the Litoral Penitentiary, Guayaquil, led to a riot that killed 123 inmates and injured over 80, becoming the deadliest prison riot in Ecuador's history. [4] In that riot, members of the Los Tiguerones gang attacked inmates in pavilions 1 and 3 and beheaded five of them. [5] Los Chone Killers and Tiguerones killed sixty-eight inmates in November 2021 at a prison riot in Litoral Penitentiary. [6]

See also

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Events in the year 2021 in Ecuador.

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The September 2021 Guayaquil prison riot occurred at the Litoral Penitentiary in Guayaquil, Ecuador on 28 September 2021. At least 123 inmates were killed and several others were injured in the riot that took place in that prison. It was the deadliest prison fight in the country's history and one of the deadliest in Latin American history.

The November 2021 Guayaquil prison riot occurred on 13 November 2021 at the Litoral Penitentiary in Guayaquil, Ecuador, killing at least 68 people and injuring 25.

The Litoral Penitentiary, known officially as Center for Social Rehabilitation of Men No. 1 of Guayaquil is the largest prison in Ecuador. It is located 16.5 km (10.3 mi) from Vía a Daule, on the outskirts of Guayaquil. The prison has twelve pavilions and has a capacity of five thousand inmates, although by July 2021 it housed around ten thousand. It is part of the Guayas Penitentiary Complex, which also includes the Guayas Regional Rehabilitation Center, La Roca Prison and the Provisional Detention Center.

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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 Lobos is an Ecuadorian criminal organization that specializes in drug trafficking and working as hitmen for international partners or allied groups. Los Lobos began as a splinter group of the Los Choneros drug cartel, but broke away in 2020 after the death of Jorge Luis Zambrano, along with Los Chone Killers and Los Tiguerones. The group has over 8,000 members and mainly operates in cities of Latacunga, Cuenca, and Machala, and also in the province of Pastaza. Los Lobos participates in the cocaine exports in Ecuador.

Jorge Luis Zambrano González, also known by the alias Rasquiña, was an Ecuadorian drug trafficker. He was the leader of Los Choneros from 2007 until his murder in 2020.

Events in the year 2024 in Ecuador.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José Adolfo Macías Villamar</span> Ecuadorian criminal (born 1979)

José Adolfo Macías Villamar, also known by the alias Fito, is an Ecuadorian drug trafficker and the current leader of Los Choneros cartel. He assumed leadership in 2020 following the murder of his predecessor Jorge Luis Zambrano. He had been incarcerated since 2011, having previously escaped prison and lived as a fugitive in 2013. In January 2024, he escaped from prison again, prompting a state of emergency to be called in Ecuador for sixty days and initiating the 2024 conflict in Ecuador.

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Los Chone Killers, or Chone Killers, are an Ecuadorian criminal and terrorist organization known for their drug trafficking activities, assassinations, and other crimes. The group split from Los Choneros in 2020, along with Los Lobos and Los Tiguerones following the murder of Los Choneros leader Jorge Luis Zambrano. The group mainly operates in Guayas Province, in particular the city of Durán.

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The Ecuadorian drug war is an internal conflict in Ecuador waged by the Ecuadorian security forces against criminal groups since the beginning of 2018. The conflict is divided into two parts, the first is the Ecuadorian government against satellite groups of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and Sinaloa Cartel, and the second is the confrontation between said satellite groups for dominance and hegemony.

References

  1. 1 2 Medina, Fernando (February 23, 2021). "Los Pipos, Los Lobos, Los Chone Killers y Los Tiguerones desencadenaron los ataques que terminaron con la vida de 62 presos, segun autoridades". El Comercio. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  2. "Choneros". InSight Crime. 2021-10-04. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  3. "Lobos". InSight Crime. 2022-11-08. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  4. "Death toll in Ecuador prison riot exceeds 100 with some inmates beheaded". The Guardian. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  5. "'Alarde' de Los Choneros desató masacre en Penitenciaría de Guayaquil". Primicias. 2021-09-29. Archived from the original on 2021-09-29. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
  6. Solano, Allen Panchana And Gonzalo (2021-11-14). "Signs abounded that deadly Ecuador prison attack was coming". CP24. Retrieved 2024-01-10.