A trend of Ecuadorian criminal leaders who present themselves in neighboring Colombia underlines how the country serves as a refuge – as well as a potential cemetery – for bosses that seek to flee both state repression and intense violence at home.
On May 30, Argentina Minister of Security, Patricia Bullrich, announced that Terry Israel Camacho, alias “tromudo”, was denied entry into the country of Ezeiza in Buenos Aires International Airport. Trumudo, who arrived on a flight from the capital of Colombia Bogotá, is one of the main chiefs KillersOne of the most important gangs in the equator.
“He was detected in Bogotá, we coordinated with Colombia, we were waiting for him in Ezeiza,” read the announcementwhich was published on social networks.
The appearance of Tompudo to Bogotá followed an assassination of December 2024 attempt Against the gang boss and his brother, Antonio Benjamín Camacho, alias “Ben 10”, in the Colombian city in the southwest of Cali. Despite the first media reports suggesting that the two brothers died in the attack, only Ben 10, who directed The Chone killers and his brother were killed, while tromudo survived.
The attack on the brothers was only one of the many cases of Ecuadorian gang leaders and drug traffickers appearing in Colombia in the past 20 years.
In February, the hired killers attacked building Alexander Delgado Rocaferte, alias “saoco”, leader of a faction arrival of lobos called Sao-Boxin the Metropolis of the Caribbean of Colombia in Barranquilla. Saoco survived the attack and fled the country shortly after, according to, according to Express.
In May 2023, the body of Roldán Junior, alias “JR”, was find In a rural area of the Colombian department of Antioquia. The chief directed the gang Águilas of the equator and was a close ally of Choneros Leader José Adolfo Macías Villamar, alias “Fito. “Rumors persist, however, that JR simulated His death.
A few years earlier in 2017, the Colombian authorities capture Washington Prado álava, alias “Gerald”, in the department of Nariño, along the border of Colombia with the equator. Gerald, nicknamed “Pablo Escobar de l’Écateur”, was accused of trafficking at least 250 tonnes of cocaine.
See also: Treasure, corruption and legal machinations – Gerald’s inheritance in Ecuador
Jorge Luis Zambrano, alias “Rasquiña”, the architect From the climb of the choneros in the penitentiary system of the Ecuador, was also captured in Colombia in 2013. Rasquiña had escaped the Roca, the infamous maximum security prison of Ecuador, just a few months before her capture, finally being in Bogotá.
Colombia: the security refuge?
Anxious to escape spiral conflicts, Ecuvantian leaders are attracted to Colombia by various factors, including the low cost of living and easy access.
While the violence of the gangs has worsened in equator, the authorities responded with massive police and military operations seeking to withdraw the main leaders of the country. This response, combined with compound violence stimulated by Gang fragmentationmade the equator more dangerous for the best criminals.
“He cannot move to this territory because he will fall at any time,” Lieutenant-Colonel Herbie Guamaní, police chief of the Nueva Prosperina district of Guayaquil told Insight in April. He referred to the case of a Switch Leader, Galo Xavier Suárez Román, alias “Wichi”, the authorities who now believe that also hide in Colombia.
Pushed to leave, Colombia is an attractive destination, allowing managers to fly under the radar. The land border between countries is porous, which means that the shields can easily cross Colombia, leaving no trace of their departure. The cultural and geographic proximity of the two nations also means that many Ecuadorians live or visit Colombia, allowing criminal leaders to blend into their compatriots. The low cost of living in Colombia compared to the equator could be an additional factor, offering Equatorial leaders a more luxurious lifestyle than they find at home.
Ecuador leaders also go to Colombia in search of more direct relations with Colombian cocaine suppliers.
The vast majority of world cocaine comes from Colombia, whose groups have accumulated significant power and wealth thanks to their historical control of the drug export. Ecuador groups such as choneros and LobotIn turn, tend to occupy the role of simple service providers in this business, working for these Colombian networks – in addition to Mexican and European networks – in roles such as the transport of drugs, storage and contamination of shipping containers.
In an attempt to reassemble the food chain, the skills have sometimes tried to cut intermediaries and forge more direct agreements with drug suppliers, with variable success.
Gerald was the most successful, establishing direct drug supply links in Colombia. This allowed him to build One of the most prolific drug trafficking companies, winning the corpo of hundreds of millions of dollars in the process.
Colombia: the cemetery
The attacks and arrests show, however, that Colombia also has significant dangers for Ecuadorians.
For Luis Fernando Quijano, a Colombian expert in organized crime, attacks against Equatorial leaders come from groups at home, who, thanks to links, organize successes in Colombia.
“As there is an armed dispute between them, they have allies here,” he told Insight Crime. “It is the same level of risk (like the equator).”
The presence of Ecuadorians in Colombia, whether they are trying to extend their business or seek refuge, also threaten to disturb the established networks that have benefited Colombian drug traffickers and criminal groups for years. This could be another engine of the series of violent attacks against these people.
“Most of the drug traffickers who go to Colombia think they will be told:” Brother, come, sit “”, Lieutenant-Colonel Santiago Gavilanes, chief of police DuránThe base of the house of Ben 10 and Dommoludo in Ecuador, told Insight Crime in April. “But (Colombians) are not interested. You are only another for them.”
Capture is also a major risk for Equatorial leaders in Colombia. The Colombian authorities, with decades of experience in the fight against criminal groups, have well-established intelligence links with foreign partners such as the United States, Europol and Interpol. This improves their ability to capture transnational traffickers and crime leaders.
