On this day of the constitutional referendum in Ecuador, President Daniel Noboa welcomed the arrest in Spain of drug trafficker Pipo Chavarria, "the most wanted criminal in the region." According to Ecuadorian authorities, this gang leader is responsible for at least 400 deaths.

“Some thought he was dead, we went looking for him even in his own personal hell…” On Sunday, November 16, 2025, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa had no words harsh enough to describe Pipo Chavarria. On the social network X, he rejoiced: “Today, we captured Pipo Chavarria, the most wanted criminal in the region and the supreme leader of Los Lobos,” which is none other than the main drug trafficking gang in Ecuador. The arrest took place on Sunday in Spain, AFP learned from official Ecuadorian sources.

At least 400 deaths are attributed to him.

"This criminal faked his death, changed his identity and hid in Europe while ordering assassinations in Ecuador, controlling illegal mining operations there and managing drug routes with the [Mexican] Jalisco Nueva Generación cartel," explained Daniel Noboa while thanking the Ecuadorian and Spanish national police forces for their collaboration: "To fight transnational crime, international cooperation is a necessity," he stressed, without giving any further details about the arrest.

Defense Minister John Reimberg stated on the same social media platform that the drug trafficker was "responsible for at least 400 deaths." According to the minister, quoted in the Spanish press, the gang leader "ran criminal operations from the Litoral penitentiary and the Turi prison, where he was held between 2011 and 2019."

According to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, citing sources close to the investigation, the criminal was arrested upon his arrival in Malaga from Morocco. He was reportedly detained for document forgery, and an international arrest warrant is expected to be issued for him in connection with the events that took place in Ecuador.