Eight Bodies Discovered in Ecuador as Gang War Between Los Lobos and Los Choneros Claims More Lives

Eight bodies were found on the outskirts of the town of Babahoyo after eight people, some of whom were related, disappeared on Sunday while traveling from Daule to Milagro, about 30 miles south of Babahoyo. The victims had yet to be identified. Interior Minister John Reimberg said a note found at the scene suggested the victims were targeted by the Los Lobos gang as part of its war with the rival Los Choneros outfit.

Modesto Freire, the state prosecutor in Milagro, said two of the people reported missing were minors. The two minors and the other people reported missing were farmers from Daule, a rice-growing region, according to their families. Los Lobos and Los Choneros are among Ecuador's main drug trafficking and extortion gangs with ties to international cartels.

In September, Los Lobos was designated a terrorist organization by the United States. Ecuador serves as a gateway to international markets for 70% of the cocaine from neighboring Colombia and Peru, the world's leading producers of cocaine. The fight for control of the drug trade has led to an explosion of violence particularly around the port cities of Guayaquil and Manta.

In January, police found the bodies of six young people who had gone for a motorbike ride in Santa Elena province, next to Guayas province, where Guayaquil is located. Ecuador recorded over 9,200 violent deaths last year. Right-wing President Daniel Noboa has imposed curfews and deployed the military to several provinces to try to stamp out gang activity.

American commandos recently joined Ecuadorian troops in a joint mission aimed at dismantling a suspected criminal hub operated by an alleged narco-terrorist organization along the country's coast. In early March, the United States and Ecuador launched joint military operations against designated terrorist organizations in the country. Adolfo Macías leads Los Choneros.