What the Chone Killers Designation Means for Ecuador’s Criminal Underworld
The U.S. designation of Ecuador’s Chone Killers as a foreign terrorist organization obscures a messier reality: a fragmented gang world shaped by prison networks, shifting alliances, and local turf wars.
The U.S. State Department has added Ecuador’s Chone Killers to its list of foreign terrorist organizations operating across Latin America. InSight Crime Managing Editor Deborah Bonello discusses this latest development, and what it means for the dynamics of organized crime on the ground in Ecuador, with Co-director Steven Dudley and investigator Gavin Voss.
The US State Department has added the Chone Killers in Ecuador to its list of foreign terrorist organizations operating across Latin America. InSight Crime Managing Editor Deborah Bonello discusses this latest development and what it means for organized crime dynamics on the ground in Ecuador with Co-director Steven Dudley and investigator Gavin Voss.
Deborah: [00:00:00] This week, the U.S. State Department added another Ecuadorian gang to its list of foreign terrorist organizations. This time it is the Chone Killers, accused of numerous attacks on civilians, law enforcement officers, and government officials, including high-profile assassinations of public officials. It is the latest step in a rapidly moving campaign. By Washington’s own count, this is now the eighteenth Latin American gang or cartel added to the terrorism list since February.
Deborah: [00:00:00] This week, the US State Department added another Ecuadorian gang to its list of foreign terrorist organizations. This time, it’s the Chone Killers accused of numerous attacks targeting civilians, law enforcement officers and government officials, including high profile assassinations of public officials. This is the latest move in a fast moving campaign. By Washington’s own count, this is now the 18th Latin American gang or cartel added to the terrorism list since February.
SEE ALSO: U.S. Foreign Terrorist Designations in Latin America: An Interactive Map
SEE ALSO: US Foreign Terrorist Designations in Latin America: An Interactive Map
Deborah: [00:00:34] But here at InSight Crime, we feel obliged to set the record straight, and to ask whether the Chone Killers truly fit the foreign terrorist designation. On the ground in Ecuador, they are a gang that has splintered into rival factions shooting at one another over territory. I’m Deborah Bonello, managing editor of InSight Crime, and this week I’m joined by our Co-director Steven Dudley and by Gavin Voss, both of whom have been digging deeply into Ecuador’s criminal landscape and the Chone Killers. Thank you both for joining me.
Deborah: [00:00:34] But here at InSight Crime, we feel compelled to do some setting the record straight. And whether the Chone Killers comply to the foreign terrorist designation. On the ground in Ecuador they’re a gang that has splintered into rival factions shooting at each other over turf. I’m Deborah Bonello, managing editor of InSight Crime, and I’m joined this week by our Co-director Steven Dudley and by Gavin Voss, who have both been digging deep into Ecuador’s criminal panorama and the Chone Killers. Thanks for joining me, both of you.
Steven: [00:01:09] Thanks, Deb.
Steven: [00:01:09] Thanks, Deb.
Gavin: [00:01:10] Thank you, Deb.
Gavin: [00:01:10] Thank you. Deb.
Deborah: [00:01:12] Gav, let’s begin with who these people actually are, because the State Department statement gives us a single line: that they split from the Choneros in 2020. Can you walk us through the gang a little?
Deborah: [00:01:12] Gav, let’s start with who these guys actually are, because the State Department statement gives us one line that they split from the Choneros in 2020. Can you walk us through the gang a little bit?
Gavin: [00:01:25] Yes, absolutely. And in a sense, I think that one line is fairly accurate, because to understand the Chone Killers as a group, you also have to know something about the history of the Choneros. For those who don’t know, the Choneros today are one of Ecuador’s leading criminal groups, and they were designated a terrorist organization by the United States last year, a year before the Chone Killers. The Choneros began in the coastal region, which is highly strategic for the drug-trafficking routes we see today. Beginning in the late 1990s, they were involved in very local criminal economies: robbery, extortion, that sort of thing. But over the next two decades, through the 2000s and 2010s, the Choneros rose from being a local group to becoming something like a national criminal force. They did this chiefly by entering the international drug trade. They forged alliances with some of the biggest cocaine traffickers, who would bring cocaine from Colombia through Ecuador for export. I think that, beyond drug trafficking, they also exploited Ecuador’s extremely vulnerable prison system, using it as a base from which to expand their national brand, build connections, eliminate rivals, and so on.
Gavin: [00:01:25] Yeah, absolutely. And I think in some sense, that one line is pretty accurate in that in order to understand the Chone Killers as a group, you also have to know a little bit about the history of the Choneros. So for those of you who don’t know, the Choneros today are one of Ecuador’s top criminal groups, and they were designated a terrorist organization by the United States last year. So a year before the Chone Killers. And this group, the Choneros, started out in the coastal region, which is very strategic for drug trafficking routes that we see today. And starting in the late 1990s, they were involved in very local criminal economies. We’re talking about things like robbery, extortion, but kind of over the course of the following two decades in the 2000s and 2010s, the Choneros rose from being a local group to really this kind of national criminal force. And they did this mainly by getting involved in the international drug trade. They forged alliances with some of the biggest cocaine traffickers that would bring cocaine from Colombia through Ecuador to be exported. I think also in addition to drug trafficking, they also exploited Ecuador’s very vulnerable prison system, and they used that as a base through which to kind of expand their national brand connections, eliminate rivals, things of that nature.
SEE ALSO: Behind Bars, Beyond Control: The Fall of Ecuador’s Prisons and the Rise of Its Mafias
SEE ALSO: Behind Bars, Beyond Control: The Fall of Ecuador’s Prisons and the Rise of its Mafias
Gavin: [00:03:02] So I think one of the most important figures for understanding Ecuador’s criminal history is Jorge Luis Zambrano, alias “Rasquiña.” He was the leader of the Choneros, and he was a very charismatic figure. He wanted more power. He wanted to expand the group. And he knew that, in order to do that, the Choneros needed allies all over the country, right? So, pragmatic as he was, he connected with the leaders of gangs that already existed and incorporated them into this kind of confederation that was the Choneros. Rather than being a monolithic criminal group, they really brought a number of different gangs under their wing.
Gavin: [00:03:02] So I think probably one of the most important people for understanding Ecuador’s criminal history is Jorge Luis Zambrano, alias “Rasquiña.” He was the leader of the Choneros, and he was a very charismatic figure. He wanted more power. He wanted to expand the group. And he knew that in order to do that, the Choneros needed allies all around the country. Right? So he, being pragmatic as he was, he connected with leaders of already existing gangs and incorporated them under this kind of confederation that was the Choneros. So instead of being kind of a monolithic criminal group, they really incorporated a bunch of different gangs under their wing.
[00:03:49] But then, in 2020, Rasquiña was murdered, and that entire structure collapsed. That is when we begin to see the Chone Killers, along with the Tiguerones and the Lobos, which had been among the gangs under the Choneros’ umbrella, begin to act more independently after that killing.
[00:03:49] But then in 2020, Rasquiña was murdered and that whole structure collapsed. So that’s when we start to see the Chone Killers, along with the Tiguerones and the Lobos, who were kind of among those gangs that were under the Choneros’ umbrella, but then began acting more independently after that murder.
Deborah: [00:04:10] So the Chone Killers were born more out of a power vacuum than as something built from the ground up with a fixed command structure, like, say, the PCC in Brazil.
Deborah: [00:04:10] So the Chone Killers were born more out of a power vacuum, rather than something built from the ground up with a fixed command structure like, say, the PCC in Brazil.
Gavin: [00:04:23] Well, yes, I’d say sort of. I’d say the answer is probably both yes and no, because one thing I didn’t mention earlier is that the Chone Killers had already existed for years before they joined forces with the Choneros. They were based in Durán, and originally they were a faction of what was called the Netas. The Netas were a prison gang of a transnational nature that originated in the prisons of Puerto Rico; later, deportees from the United States who belonged to that gang established factions in Ecuador. So it followed a very similar trajectory to what we see with other gangs, such as MS-13 in El Salvador and Central America. That, then, is the basis of the Netas. But that is what the Chone Killers originally were. The group began as a low-level street gang composed largely of young people. They were involved in criminal economies such as drug dealing. But their leaders, who were in prison at the same time as Rasquiña, met with him, and under the umbrella of the Choneros they became the Chone Killers, obviously adopting the name Chone as a kind of homage to the group of which they were now a part. It is interesting, because although they are called the Chone Killers, they really have nothing to do with Chone. They are from Durán. That is where their power base is. So yes, it was really only after Rasquiña’s murder in 2020 and the fragmentation of the Choneros that we begin to see the Chone Killers acting more independently. They can now choose their own alliances. Sometimes they work with the Choneros, sometimes they do not. So instead of being subordinate to the Choneros, as they were before, they are now far more autonomous.
Gavin: [00:04:23] Well, yeah, I’d say kind of. I’d say yeah, probably yes and no to that question, because one thing I didn’t mention before is that the Chone Killers had, you know, already existed for years before they joined forces with the Choneros. So they were based in Durán and they were originally a faction of what was called the Netas. And the Netas were a prison gang of transnational nature that kind of originated in the prisons of Puerto Rico, and then deportees from the United States that were part of that gang established factions in Ecuador. So it was very much a similar kind of trajectory that we see in other gangs, such as MS13 in El Salvador and Central America. So yeah, that’s kind of the basis of the Netas. But that’s where the Chone Killers, that’s what they originally were, right. And this group, it was originally a low-level street gang composed largely of youth. They were involved in criminal economies like drug dealing. But then their leaders, who were in prison at the same time as Rasquiña, they met up and under the umbrella of the Choneros became the Chone Killers. obviously adopting the name Chone as homage kind of to the group that they were now a part of. So it’s kind of interesting because they’re called the Chone Killers, but they really don’t have anything to do with Chone. They’re from Durán. That’s where the base of their power is. So yeah, it was kind of really only after Rasquiña’s murder in 2020 and the fragmentation of the Choneros that we begin to see the Chone Killers, we kind of start to see them acting more independently. They can choose their own alliances now. Sometimes they work with the Choneros, sometimes not. So instead of being subordinate to the Choneros like they were before, they’re now much more autonomous.
Deborah: [00:06:31] So today, in 2026, with this FTO designation, what does the group look like?
Deborah: [00:06:31] So now today in 2026, with this FTO designation, what does the group look like?
Gavin: [00:06:38] In the past couple of years, the situation around this group has grown increasingly complicated. Their original leaders, who were also the group’s leaders when it was technically a Netas faction, were two men known as Ben Diez and Trampudo. Ben Diez was killed in Colombia in 2024. His brother, Trampudo, is on the run. Other top leaders, with names like Negro Tulio, Bob Marley, and Gato Selly, who are also major names in and around Durán and in Guayaquil’s underworld, have been captured and are in prison. So essentially the group is now without its principal original leaders. This has produced chaos and fragmentation. In and around Durán, a suburb of Guayaquil that is the historic base of the Chone Killers, police now say there are at least five separate factions of Chone Killers alone. And they are fighting one another to carve up the territory left behind by the deaths and captures of the men who are now gone, or at least out of the picture. Police in Durán say that a large share of the murders in that specific area are the result of Chone Killers factions fighting other Chone Killers factions. And I think this is very important when we talk about the terrorist designation, because it means the situation is being muddied. It is hard to tell who is who.
Gavin: [00:06:38] So now, in the past couple of years, the situation with this group has become increasingly more complicated. So their original leaders, who were also the leaders of the group when they were technically a Netas faction. These are two people named Ben Diez and Trampudo. Ben Diez was killed in Colombia in 2024. His brother Trampudo is on the run. Other top leaders with names like Negro Tulio, Bob Marley, Gato Selly, who are also big names in and around Durán and in Guayaquil’s underworld. These people have been captured, and they’re in prison. So basically the group now is without its main original leaders. And this has resulted in kind of chaos and fracturing. So kind of in and around Durán, which is this suburb of Guayaquil that’s the historic base of the Chone Killers, there’s now a police say at least five separate factions of just Chone Killers factions. And they’re fighting each other to kind of carve up the territory that’s left in the wake of the death and capture of these guys who are now gone or out of the picture. So Durán police say that a big chunk of the murders that occur in the specific area are due to Chone Killers factions versus Chone Killers factions. And I think this is really important when we’re talking about the terrorist designation because it means that it’s kind of muddying the situation. It’s kind of hard to tell who is who.