Key Suspect in Ecuadorian Presidential Candidate Murder Captured in Mexico

Mexican authorities have apprehended a major suspect wanted for the 2023 assassination of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. The suspect, identified as a leader of the criminal organization "Los Lobos," was transferred to Colombia following his arrest.

BOGOTA, Colombia — Mexican law enforcement has captured and transferred to Colombia a key figure sought in connection with the 2023 murder of Ecuadorian presidential hopeful Fernando Villavicencio, officials announced Wednesday.

The suspect, Ángel Esteban Aguilar Morales, an Ecuador native, landed in Bogota Wednesday where Colombian immigration officials took him into custody at El Dorado Airport. Officials have not disclosed specifics regarding his legal status or whether formal extradition procedures were followed.

Going by the alias “Lobo Menor,” Aguilar is believed to be among the top leaders of the Ecuadorian crime organization “Los Lobos” and ranks among Ecuador’s most sought-after criminals, with an Interpol Red Notice issued for his worldwide capture.

According to Mexican authorities, Aguilar was monitored from the moment he crossed into Mexican territory, prompting continuous surveillance operations. Intelligence shared by Colombian officials later helped pinpoint his exact whereabouts in Mexico City.

The apprehension in Mexico occurred “without the use of violence,” according to security officials, who placed Aguilar under the supervision of the National Migration Institute to assess his legal standing in the country, though they did not clarify whether deportation proceedings were involved.

“The individual was attempting to evade immigration controls by using a false identity as a Colombian citizen,” the Colombian migration agency said in a statement.

Mexico severed diplomatic ties with Ecuador in April 2024 after Ecuadorian military forces raided the Mexican Embassy in Quito to apprehend former Vice President Jorge Glas, a corruption defendant who had sought refuge there since late 2023.

Neither Colombia’s foreign ministry nor its migration agency immediately provided responses to requests for additional information.

Colombian police report that Aguilar had traveled to Mexico from Medellin, Colombia, carrying fraudulent documentation with the “express purpose of strengthening criminal networks in the region.”

Colombian President Gustavo Petro praised the international law enforcement collaboration on X, calling it “a significant blow against transnational organized crime.”

Last February, Ecuador’s Attorney General’s Office unveiled fresh evidence attempting to formally connect three suspects — Aguilar among them — to the Villavicencio murder case. These individuals reportedly provided logistical and operational support for the August 9, 2023 killing, which occurred as the presidential candidate departed a campaign event in Quito’s northern district.

Beyond the Villavicencio investigation, law enforcement officials indicate that “Lobo Menor” maintains suspected connections to Mexican drug cartels and to Néstor Gregorio Vera, also called Iván Mordisco — who heads a breakaway group from the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla movement, comprised of members who rejected the 2016 peace accord with Colombia’s government.