US sanctions Ecuador drug trafficking group Los Lobos

The United States unveiled sanctions Thursday against Ecuador's largest drug trafficking organization, known as "Los Lobos," accusing the group of "significantly" contributing to violence in the country.

Long considered a peaceful haven in Latin America, Ecuador has seen violence explode in recent years as rival gangs with links to Mexican and Colombian cartels vie for control.

The Ecuadoran government declared a state of emergency in nearly a third of its provinces last month after a surge in violence, allowing for the deployment of soldiers in the street for a period of 60 days.

"Numbering thousands of members, Los Lobos has emerged as Ecuador's largest drug trafficking organization and contributes significantly to the violence gripping the country," the US Treasury Department said in a statement.

The group, whose name means "the wolves" in Spanish, "has been involved in drug trafficking, murder-for-hire, and illegal gold mining," and has also been accused of the 2023 assassination of Ecuadoran presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, the Treasury Department added.

It also unveiled sanctions against the leader of Los Lobos, Wilmer Geovanny Chavarria Barre -- also known as "Pipo" -- who it says gained notoriety while running a group of hitmen for another gang. He remains at large.

"As today's actions demonstrate, we steadfastly support Ecuador in its efforts to combat drug trafficking and counter the threat of drug-related violence," Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement.