FLASH
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Another criminal mastermind known as 'The Savage' has been released from prison in Ecuador as the country descends into civil war between the military and criminal gangs.
Fabricio Colon Pico escaped along with 37 other inmates from Riobamba prison in central Ecuador earlier this week after armed bandits entered the prison and took guards and staff members hostage.
'The Savage' was arrested last Thursday after being accused of plotting to kill Ecuador's Attorney General, Diana Salazar, and is now back on the streets after being released from prison. Pico is a key member of Ecuador's Los Lobos (Wolves) gang, linked to Albanian mobsters who help their South American counterparts export drugs to West and North Africa, and then to Europe.
As with other cartels, Los Lobos run drug-trafficking operations, deriving much of their income by moving drugs purchased from Mexican cartels from groups in Colombia, then exporting the product from various ports in the coast line of Ecuador. But the group also controls much of Ecuador's illegal mining sector, adding to their already vast wealth.
Savage's release from prison comes just days after Jose Adolfo Macias, known as 'Fito', the leader of Ecuador's largest gang Los Choneros, escaped from prison on Sunday. Since Monday, drug cartels have waged a bloody campaign of kidnappings and attacks in response to a government crackdown on organized crime, prompting Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa to declare that the country is in a 'state of war'.
“Surrender to evil: never. Fight tirelessly: always!” said 36-year-old Noboa .
Ecuador's armed forces are now embroiled in a brutal crackdown on gangs, deploying more than 22,400 soldiers to quell a gang-led terror campaign that has already claimed more than a dozen lives and tortured prison staff. The gangs have also instigated multiple riots in prisons, set off explosions and burnt cars in public places following their declaration of 'war'.
Groups like Los Lobos and Los Choneros coordinate closely with European crime syndicates like the Albanian mafia and Italy's dreaded 'Ndrangheta to export their product. The Albanian 'caps' and their successors tightly control every link in the trade chain from Ecuador to the final destination, the £2 billion cocaine market in almost all of Britain's major cities and suburbs.
Albanians began arriving in Ecuador a decade ago, not long after President Correa decided that foreigners could stay for six months without a visa. In fact, he was opening the doors to Albanian traffickers, for whom it was too good an opportunity to refuse. For many, daily life in many cities, including Esmeraldas and Guayaquil, has become unbearable with the attacks putting shops and companies out of business.
Now, with an armed presence on the streets, land, sea and air patrols, random body and car searches, prison raids and the imposition of a curfew, President Noboa's government has vowed not to give up in its 'war' with 22 criminal gangs.
"They wanted to instill fear, but they aroused our anger. They believed they would subjugate an entire country, but forgot that the armed forces are trained for war ," Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo said on social media.
Criminal gangs in the country of about 17 million people are thought to have more than 20,000 members. Police said the death toll rose to 16 on Wednesday, with a "terrorist" attack on a disco in the Amazon that claimed two lives and injured nine.
Seven police officers have been kidnapped in recent days, although only one remains in captivity. On Tuesday, hooded criminals attacked a state television station in the port city of Guayaquil, briefly taking staff members hostage and firing shots in dramatic scenes broadcast live before police arrived.
13 attackers were arrested, many of them young teenagers. This attack in particular caused panic in the general population, with many people leaving work early, closing their businesses and running for the safety of home.
Public transport has been reduced to electricity, schools and universities have been closed and people have been urged to work from home as horrified citizens are bombarded with videos on social media of alleged killings of members of the security forces. Police have not confirmed any executions and insist the videos are part of a disinformation campaign.
Noboa has vowed not to bow to violence, issuing orders to 'neutralize' the criminal groups responsible.
"We are in a state of war and we cannot surrender to these terrorist groups ," Noboa told Radio Canela on Wednesday.
Hundreds of police and soldiers have been deployed on a hunt for Fito, and more units are now tasked with finding 'The Savage'. The United Nations, the United States, China and several other countries have expressed concern about the violence and offered support to Noboa. As the drug mafia has found a foothold in Ecuador in recent years, the country's homicide rate quadrupled from 2018 to 2022.
Last year was the worst yet, with 7,800 murders and a record 220 tonnes of drugs seized. Much of the violence has been concentrated in prisons, where spectacularly brutal clashes between inmates have left more than 460 dead, many beheaded or burned alive, since February 2021.
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