International News: United States imposes sanctions on Los Choneros gang following State of Emergency in Ecuador

By Zoila Palma Gonzalez: On Wednesday, the United States imposed sanctions on Los Choneros gang in Ecuador, Reuters report.

Last month, President Daniel Noboa launched a military crackdown on gangs and a 60-day state of emergency following a prison break of well-known gang leader ‘Fito’ and an attack on a TV station during a live show.

Authorities have tied Los Choneros to extortion, murder and drug trafficking and accuse the group of controlling Ecuador’s crime-plagued and overcrowded prisons.

The sanctions include the freezing of any U.S. assets of the group and its leader and bars Americans from dealing with them.

“Drug trafficking gangs such as Los Choneros, many with ties to powerful drug cartels in Mexico, threaten the lives and livelihoods of communities in Ecuador and throughout the region,” Treasury’s Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian Nelson said.

“We stand in support of Ecuador in its fight to combat drug trafficking, curb the proliferation of prison gangs and prison violence, and take back its streets,” Nelson added.

The Treasury said Los Choneros has been involved in drug trafficking in Ecuador since the 1990s and accused it of being a key driver of escalating violence in the country since 2020.

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