Tiguerones

The Tiguerones is one of Ecuador’s most dangerous and influential criminal groups and a key player in transnational cocaine trafficking. Founded by a former prison guard, the group emerged in Guayaquil as a faction of the Choneros and also established a presence in Esmeraldas, in northwestern Ecuador. From these territories, and after breaking away from the Choneros, Los Tiguerones expanded their influence and became one of Ecuador’s most violent criminal groups. At the same time, they diversified their activities, which now include retail drug sales, extortion, robbery, and providing services to transnational drug trafficking organizations. The US State Department designated Los Tiguerones as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) on September 9. In this profile: - Recent Tiguerones Context - What is the story of the Tiguerones? - Who are the leaders of the Tiguerones? - Where do the Tiguerones operate? - Who are the Tiguerones’ friends and foes? - What is the outlook for the Tiguerones? Recent Tiguerones Context September 9, 2026 – US Designates the Tiguerones a Foreign Terrorist Organization The US State Department designated the Tiguerones a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist on September 9. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the designation during a visit to Quito, citing the group’s alleged ties to drug trafficking and attacks against civilians, law enforcement officers, and journalists, including the 2024 armed takeover of an Ecuadorian television station. The Tiguerones joins fellow Ecuadorian criminal groups the Choneros, the Lobos, and the Chone Killers on the US’ terrorist designations list, as the United States intensifies its campaign against drug trafficking in the region. Read More Updates September 8, 2026 — Criminal Violence in Ecuador Drives Internal Displacement More than 300,000 Ecuadorians have fled their homes over the past three years due to death threats, extortion, recruitment by armed groups, or the killing of relatives, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Ecuador’s Ombudsman’s Office. The country now ranks third in the region for internal displacement, behind only Haiti and Colombia, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council. Clashes between factions of the Tiguerones in Guayaquil’s Nueva Prosperina neighborhood have reportedly driven much of the exodus. Displacement is one of several symptoms of Ecuador’s persistent security crisis. What is the story of the Tiguerones? Los Tiguerones emerged under the leadership of William Joffre Alcívar Bautista, alias “Negro Willy” or “Willy,” in the late 2010s. At the time, Willy was a prison guard in Guayaquil who began smuggling contraband into the prison where Choneros leader Jorge Luis Zambrano, alias “Rasquiña” or “JL,” was being held. Rasquiña sought to take advantage of Willy’s connections to his hometown of Esmeraldas, where his relatives were low-level criminals, and sent him there with orders to eliminate rivals and gain territory, a source close to the Choneros’ leadership told InSight Crime. In December 2017, Willy was arrested and placed in pretrial detention for the murder of a 54-year-old man. While in prison, he consolidated his connections and leadership as Los Tiguerones began gaining strength both inside and outside the prison system, particularly in Esmeraldas. After the charges against Willy were dismissed, Los Tiguerones continued to advance and became one of the dominant criminal actors in the city of Esmeraldas, although they remained under the Choneros’ shadow. The group became independent when Rasquiña was murdered, which triggered the fragmentation of the Choneros. They joined a coalition of former Choneros factions known as the New Generation, alongside other groups such as the Lobos and the Chone Killers. The New Generation fought the remnants of the Choneros in a conflict that drove up homicide rates and fueled a series of brutal massacres in Ecuador’s prisons. During this period, Los Tiguerones participated in one of the worst prison massacres in Ecuador’s history, when at least 119 inmates were killed during a failed attempt to seize control of a cellblock controlled by the Choneros in Guayaquil’s Litoral Penitentiary. In 2023, the Tiguerones switched sides again, forming an alliance with the Choneros and fighting the Lobos for territory, particularly in Esmeraldas. There, their former allies launched a violent campaign to take control of the Tiguerones’ stronghold. The clashes turned the city into one of Ecuador’s most violent and led to deadly massacres, including the killing of nine fishermen in April 2023, allegedly carried out by Los Tiguerones because of a dispute over extortion payments. Los Tiguerones have also been involved in some of the country’s most notorious cases of criminal groups using terror tactics from inside prisons to pressure the government. In 2022, the group, together with the Lobos, was allegedly involved in a wave of attacks that included car bombs and bodies displayed from bridges. The attacks came in response to government plans to carry out mass transfers from the Litoral Penitentiary, threatening the groups’ profits and power inside the prison. Then, in January 2024, when President Daniel Noboa targeted gang leaders in prison, Los Tiguerones played a key role in another series of coordinated attacks, allegedly storming a live television broadcast in an incident that shocked Ecuador and made headlines around the world. In response, the government declared Los Tiguerones and other gangs “terrorist groups” and said the country was in a state of “internal armed conflict.” The president then ordered the military to intervene in prisons and deploy to the streets, disrupting Tiguerones networks in prisons in Guayaquil and Esmeraldas and putting local commanders on the defensive. Willy’s arrest in Spain in October 2024 deepened an internal dispute that had already been brewing among Los Tiguerones in Guayaquil. Since 2023, two cells within the group, the Fénix and the Igualitos, had been locked in a conflict that sparked a series of killings. The internal dispute escalated and culminated in a March 2025 massacre in Socio Vivienda that left at least 22 people dead. In September 2026, the United States designated the Tiguerones as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). Los Tiguerones thus joined the Choneros, the Lobos, and the Chone Killers among the Ecuadorian criminal groups included in US terrorist designations. Who are the leaders of the Tiguerones? Since the group’s founding, leadership of Los Tiguerones has centered on Willy, whom members call “El Emperador” (“The Emperor”), and his immediate family, particularly his brothers Alex Iván Alcívar Bautista, alias “Ronco,” and Luis Ernesto Alcívar Bautista, alias “Puya,” as well as his father, William Alcívar Bautista Quiñonez. Both Ronco and Puya were arrested in 2017. Ronco was sentenced to 88 months on robbery and organized crime charges, while Puya was sentenced to 34 years for homicide. Ronco was released from prison in 2021 and became a regional commander for Los Tiguerones in southern Esmeraldas, according to local police. Puya escaped from prison in 2019, and his whereabouts remain unknown. Willy’s father was arrested on organized crime charges in 2023 and remains in prison. In October 2024, Willy and Ronco were arrested in Spain during a joint operation by Spanish and Ecuadorian police. A Spanish court authorized Willy’s extradition to Ecuador in June 2025, but made his transfer conditional on Ecuador providing guarantees regarding his safety and detention conditions. Willy was released on December 29, 2025 after the deadline to provide those guarantees expired. Spanish authorities said Ecuador had failed to meet the requirement on time, while the Ecuadorian government maintained that it had submitted the requested documentation. Willy’s arrest also weakened the centralized leadership of Los Tiguerones and accelerated the group’s fragmentation. Where do the Tiguerones operate? Los Tiguerones have their main stronghold in the city of Esmeraldas. They also have a presence in Guayaquil, particularly in Isla Trinitaria and the Socio Vivienda housing development. While they previously wielded influence over criminal dynamics in prisons in Esmeraldas and Guayaquil, the current extent of that influence is unclear amid the group’s fragmentation and emerging power vacuums. Who are the Tiguerones’ friends and foes? After becoming independent, Los Tiguerones formed part of a criminal confederation that included the Lobos and the Chone Killers. Calling themselves the New Generation, and with support from Ecuadorian drug traffickers such as Leandro Norero, they fought the Choneros. Los Tiguerones later allied with the Choneros and the Chone Killers to fight their former allies, the Lobos. In Esmeraldas, they divide territory with the Gángsters, who are also aligned with the Choneros. Los Tiguerones are believed to have direct connections to the Jalisco Cartel New Generation (Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación – CJNG), providing the Mexican group with drug trafficking services. What is the outlook for the Tiguerones? Since 2024, military interventions on the streets and in prisons have weakened Los Tiguerones. In Esmeraldas, the group has lost ground to the Lobos, while in Guayaquil its main challenge has been growing internal fragmentation, which has eroded its cohesion and generated new pockets of violence. This has coincided with mounting international pressure. September 2026’s FTO designation from the United States expanded the tools available to target the group, its members, and its support networks, and the Trump administration has been working more closely with Ecuador, including launching joint operations against organized crime. However, the fragmentation of Los Tiguerones may also complicate these efforts as factions emerge with their own leaders and alliances, making the group’s current structure increasingly difficult to define.