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The Attorney General’s Office in Ecuador announced charges against former Interior Minister José Serrano and six others on September 3, 2025, accusing them of acting as intellectual authors in the assassination of Fernando Villavicencio. Serrano allegedly exploited his police contacts to expose gaps in the candidate’s security arrangement, according to an InSight Crime report on the case. Xavier Jordán, a businessman, was charged with directing and financing the murder while former assembly member Ronny Aleaga faced accusations of linking the plotters to the assassins. Daniel Salcedo stood accused of conducting surveillance on Villavicencio in preparation for the attack. Prosecutors have described the seven as indirect perpetrators of the crime.
Ecuadorian police arrested Ángel Esteban Aguilar, also known as Lobo Menor and a senior Los Lobos figure, in Mexico City in March before returning him to face the new charges. Aguilar had been sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2013 for killing Serrano’s brother but fled the country after being granted parole. Wilmer Chavarria, known as Pipo and the suspected leader of Los Lobos, was arrested in Spain last year after faking his death and now faces an extradition request from Ecuadorian authorities. Five of the charged individuals are currently fugitives, with reported locations including the United States and Venezuela. The prosecutor’s office has applied for Interpol red notices to facilitate their arrests according to statements from the agency.
Fernando Villavicencio was shot dead on August 9, 2023, as he departed a campaign rally in the capital city of Quito just weeks before the presidential election, Reuters reported at the time. The anti-corruption legislator and former journalist had received multiple death threats linked to his investigations into organized crime and government connections. In the aftermath, one suspect died at the scene while six others were initially detained but later found murdered in prison while awaiting trial. A court sentenced five convicted participants to terms between 12 and 34 years in July 2024, an Al Jazeera report from the time detailed. A witness later identified drug lord Leandro Norero as the person who ordered the hit, according to updates on the case.
President Daniel Noboa assumed office following the violence and subsequently launched a military offensive against the country’s powerful criminal organizations. Los Lobos has emerged as one of the dominant gangs in Ecuador with reported alliances to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel in Mexico, InSight Crime data shows. The nation’s geographic position between major cocaine producers Colombia and Peru has made it a strategic transit corridor for international drug trafficking according to the same analysis. Homicide rates have climbed significantly in recent years according to InSight Crime figures. The latest charges target what authorities describe as the masterminds behind the high-profile killing.
José Serrano held the interior minister post from 2011 to 2016 during Rafael Correa’s presidency and later presided over the National Assembly. The new case against him centers on claims that he assembled a team of officers to monitor Villavicencio’s security detail for vulnerabilities. A judge ordered pre-trial detention for two of the accused shortly after the charges were filed, Reuters reported from the hearing. Proceedings to decide if the matter proceeds to trial are underway in the capital. Officials continue to pursue the remaining fugitives through international cooperation channels.
