One of the most dangerous criminals in Ecuador, the leader of an organization involved in drug trafficking and extreme violence, escaped from a maximum security prison.
The leader of the Los Aguilas band, known as “Fede”, managed to run from photo prison: X
The leader of the Los Aguilas band, known as “Fede”, managed to flee from a detention complex in the port of Guayaquil, a place where some of the most dangerous criminals of the country are incarcerated.
The announcement was made on Saturday by President Daniel Noboa, who publicly denounced “complicity“Some people from the penitentiary and asked the Prosecutor's Office to open an emergency investigation.”This is not an escape. It's a betrayal. And betrayal is punished“, The president wrote on the X platform. However, he did not specify the exact date when” Fede “fled, although he had been arrested in January, during a coordinated operation.
Criminal gangs in Ecuador, between cartels and guerrilla
Los Aguilas, like many other groups in Ecuador, has direct links with drug cartels from Mexico and the Balkan Peninsula, but also with Colombian guerrillas. These international connections have transformed the Ecuador into a key to drug trafficking in the region.
The geographical settlement of the country, between Colombia and Peru, the largest cocaine producers in the world and access to strategic ports to the Pacific Ocean make Ecuador a favorite route for illegal drug export.
Violence escalates
The official data show an explosion of crime: the rate of homicides increased alarmingly, from 6 to 100,000 inhabitants in 2018, to 38 in 2024, after a record of 47 to 100,000 had been registered, Agerpres reports.
This is not the first escape of great impact in Ecuador. In January 2024, “phyto”, the leader of the Choneos band and considered one of the most dangerous criminals in the country, also fled the Guayaquil prison. It has not been captured until now.
