President Daniel Noboa highlighted support from the United States in the fight against terrorism

President Daniel Noboa celebrated the decision of the United States Department of the Treasury to sanction the terrorist organization ‘Los Lobos’ and its alleged leader Wilmer Chavarría Barre, alias ‘Pipo’. Starting this June 6, 2024, all assets, investments and participations of people, organizations or companies linked to the criminal group in the North American country will be blocked and reported.

“The United States supports our fight against terrorism. For years terrorists have been used to doing whatever they want, today the story is different. Today they have a government that confronts them, and allies continue to join in this fight. This “It is a long-term war, one that we are going to win,” mentioned the Ecuadorian president.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control considered ‘Los Lobos’ to be the largest drug trafficking operator in Ecuador and one of the main catalysts of violence in the region. Brian E. Nelson, Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said that this decision supports Ecuador’s efforts to combat drug trafficking and counteract the violence generated by this crime.

With the sanction of ‘Los Lobos’, the US Government will prevent the organization from using money from drug trafficking and other illicit activities on assets or investments in the country. In this way, Americans or residents of that country who use funds from the organization would face civil or criminal actions.

“OFAC designated Los Lobos pursuant to Executive Order (EO) 14059 for having engaged or attempted to engage in activities or transactions that materially contributed, or pose a significant risk of materially contributing, to the international proliferation of illicit drugs or their means of production,” said the Treasury Department in a statement released by the United States Embassy in Ecuador.

These actions will also affect the close circle of ‘alias Pipo’, who is a fugitive from justice and would have fled Ecuador with a false identity. “OFAC designated Chavarría Barre under EO 14059 for being or having been a leader or official of Los Lobos,” the statement added.

The Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry also highlighted bilateral cooperation in the fight against organized crime and welcomed the sanctions against ‘Los Lobos’. The entity stressed that the resolution attacks the financing of illicit activities and that the fight against transnational crime is a shared activity in both countries.