In the Hands of Crime

Jaguars, margays, caimans, macaws: all these Amazonian animals face varying levels of threat from climate change, deforestation, and illegal hunting. But recently, they have confronted another shared threat: they are coveted by organized crime groups operating in Ecuador.

Exotic species have become the new spoils for drug-trafficking groups. This phenomenon has intensified over the past two years in the country, where every hour a person dies as a result of violence.

For six months, a team of reporters traced the connections between criminal organizations and wild animals turned into pets, symbols of power over rival groups, or representations of identity and ritual for violent factions.

At least four criminal networks—Los Choneros, Tiguerones, Lobos, and Lagartos—exploit threatened wildlife species. Until 2020, Los Choneros dominated the criminal map. That year, Jorge Luis Zambrano, Rasquiña, their leader, was gunned down. The ensuing dispute over leadership succession caused violent groups in Ecuador to fragment. By early 2024, the government of Daniel Noboa had identified 22 such groups.

Los Choneros traffic drugs along the Pacific. Along their criminal routes, they capture sharks and promote the illegal trade of fins, which are highly valued in Asian markets, especially China, for their alleged aphrodisiac properties. Los Lobos, a faction that split from Los Choneros and is now in conflict with them, has reached Peru and Chile. Their criminal portfolio includes micro-trafficking, extortion, and control of illegal mining. They are attributed with the murder of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, who was killed while leaving a campaign rally in August 2023, just days before the elections. Los Lobos seek to extend their dominance over maritime drug routes. In their conflict with Los Choneros, they have turned the western province of Manabí into a violent territory.

Under the condition of anonymity, intelligence agents revealed that Andean foxes (Lycalopex culpaeus), a species inhabiting Ecuador’s highland areas, are captured by members of this criminal group for ritual purposes. According to a police officer, a juvenile was found during a control operation at Latacunga prison in Cotopaxi, a facility dominated by the organization.

Since 2008, the Ecuadorian constitution has recognized the rights of nature. In theory, this constitutional text guarantees environmental protection. Later, in 2022, the Constitutional Court went further. That year, a family that had raised a brown-mantled howler monkey (Lagothrix lagothricha) for 18 years, whom they called Estrellita, filed a habeas corpuspetition, a legal measure seeking her return on the grounds that her seizure by environmental authorities and relocation to a zoo was illegal. The monkey died shortly thereafter, unbeknownst to the family. The case escalated to the Constitutional Court, which ruled that animals “should not be protected solely from an ecosystem perspective or with regard to human needs, but primarily from a perspective centered on their individuality.” Despite this ruling, authorities have seized 19,947 animals since 2022, including 22 ocelots (Leopardus pardalis), 51 margays (Leopardus wiedii), and 241 caimans (Caiman crocodilus, Melanosuchus niger, and Crocodylus acutus).

Where the Specimens Come From

This investigation identified three hotspots for the illegal trafficking of native species in Ecuador’s Amazon, in the provinces of Orellana and Pastaza. Animals are sold alive, dead, or in parts. especially those whose meat is used as food in Indigenous communities.

These illegal wildlife networks exploit national laws that guarantee ancestral peoples the right to harvest forest meat for their subsistence, as it forms a key part of their traditional diet. The arrival of oil and mining operations in the region has opened roads into previously inaccessible areas. An activist from Puyo, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said this has increased pressure from settlers eager to sample the highly prized “bushmeat” of species such as peccaries, monkeys, and tapirs. Social media has further fueled demand, with a single dish sometimes costing ten times the price of a pound of wildlife meat. What was once solely part of Indigenous diets is now sought after by mestizo consumers as well.

According to an officer overseeing one of the three police units dedicated to wildlife protection, trafficking is heavily facilitated through online platforms and social networks. The officer, who requested anonymity, said he is frustrated: Ecuador has only two prosecutors specialized in environmental crimes, making it nearly impossible to bring cases to court that end in convictions.

Another officer, speaking off the record, acknowledged that the State simply lacks the capacity to protect threatened wildlife. Officials often point to criminal groups as the culprits, using this as a justification for the limited results.

Rescued Wildlife

Between 2023 and mid-2025, authorities confiscated 14 specimens of native and exotic animals during operations and raids targeting criminal organizations, according to the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Ecological Transition (MAATE), in response to an information request for this project. Several of the seized species are endangered and listed on the national and international Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Many are also protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

The largest number of specimens recovered came from a raid on the property of Wilder Sánchez, better known as El Gato Farfán, who is currently awaiting sentencing in U.S. courts on drug trafficking charges.

It appears that El Gato Farfán tried to assemble a private zoo on one of his properties, in the style of Pablo Escobar, the infamous Colombian drug lord who housed a collection of wildlife at his Nápoles estate in Magdalena Medio, including four hippos.

“The local narco wants to resemble a recognized international trafficker; he aims to emulate that show of power, with countless properties and seemingly unlimited resources. There is a clear fascination with owning exotic animals that represent criminal organizations,” says retired General Freddy Sarzosa, former General Commander of the Police and Director of Investigations. According to Sarzosa, when the Ecuadorian government declared an internal war against organized crime and identified narco-terrorist structures as military targets, the magnitude of the problem became clear. General Sarzosa has over 35 years of experience.

The Tiguerones faction emerged after 2020 in the coastal province of Esmeraldas, bordering Colombia. Members of this group possessed ocelots (Leopardus pardalis). Two ocelots were rescued in joint operations with public authorities, in February 2024 and June 2025. The most recently rescued specimen showed signs of malnutrition, as it had been fed an inadequate diet by its captors.

In June 2024, two caimans (Caiman crocodilus) were freed from members of Los Lagartos. There was another unrecorded case that year involving this species.