Spanish police captured the leader of one of Ecuador’s biggest drug trafficking cartels, a major coup in a global crackdown on narcotics.
Wilmer “Pipo” Chavarria headed Los Lobos, a group with ties to some of the world’s biggest transnational drug cartels, responsible for trafficking hundreds of tons of cocaine to the US and Europe. Around 70% of the world’s cocaine now passes through Ecuador’s ports, with the fight for control of trafficking routes sending murder rates there soaring.
The arrest came as the US said it will designate a cartel that Washington alleges is run by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro as a foreign terrorist organization, potentially giving the White House legal authority to ramp up its military campaign against the country.
