By Breaking Editor 
Ecuador’s political landscape is facing renewed turmoil as Wilmer Geovanny Chavarría Barré, alias El Pipo, a leader of the criminal gang Los Lobos, has publicly accused President Daniel Noboa of orchestrating the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio in 2023. The allegations have rocked Ecuador, as the country attempts to appease the US through tariffs on left leaning governments, like Colombia and Mexico, raising concerns about the connections between organized crime and the nation’s leadership.
According to El Pipo, an audio recording implicating Noboa in these and other serious crimes exist. Among the other crimes, there also exists digital evidence of Noboa’s abuse of minors. Furthermore, El Pipo has suggested that certain political figures, including Spanish politician Isabel Díaz Ayuso, have sought to bolster Noboa’s image during electoral campaigns despite the president’s purported criminal ties.
As far back as the 1980’s, the Spanish government has found solace in the easy financing that can be provided by drug traffickers. Thus, the links today don’t appear to be too far fetched.
In response to the accusations, Ecuador’s Minister of the Interior dismissed El Pipo’s claims as “absurd,” underscoring the government’s commitment to uphold its integrity amid mounting pressure from organized crime. The remarks were made following an announcement that Villavicencio’s daughters alleged that the narcotrafficker is attempting to evade justice while damaging Noboa’s reputation.
Villavicencio, a former journalist and outspoken critic of corruption, was assassinated last August during his campaign for the presidency, triggering national outrage and calls for electoral safety reforms. The ongoing accusations against Noboa could further destabilize an already precarious political environment in Ecuador as the government tries to combat rampant drug violence. The lack of credibility in the midst of such violence makes one wonder who this type of enforcement actually benefits.