Ecuador violence: Police free 49 people held by Los Lobos gang

Los Lobos is one of the most powerful gangs in Ecuador with an estimated 8,000 members.

Originally a jail gang accused of instigating some of Ecuador’s bloodiest prison riots, Los Lobos has expanded its operations and now wields considerable power outside the prison system.

Its members are involved in contract killings, kidnappings for ransom and extortion.

The gang has also forged links with the Mexican Jalisco New Generation cartel (CJNG), for which it smuggles cocaine from Colombia through Ecuador’s port cities to the US and Europe.

Fuelled by drug money and armed by their Mexican allies, Los Lobos have become a formidable enemy for the Ecuadorean state.

In January, following a particularly bloody wave of killings and attacks, President Daniel Noboa deployed the army to try and quell the violence.

Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city and its most important port, has so far been the worst hit by gang-related violence but the raid in Azuay suggests that mining areas are now seen as lucrative targets by Los Lobos.