The Tiguerones, the Ecuadorian criminal group, was added to the US State Department’s list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) this month. But although the designations expand the US government’s powers to target the group, its members, and its support networks, the Tiguerones are far from a cohesive organization.
In Ecuador, the Tiguerones have been linked to terrorist attacks as well as drug trafficking, extortion, and robbery. Ecuador’s police accused the group of being behind a car bomb outside a police station in the port city of Guayaquil, a crucial transshipment point for drugs heading to Europe, in May 2022. And members of the group stormed a television station in the same city during a live broadcast in January 2024. The incident made headlines around the world and prompted President Daniel Noboa to declare an internal armed conflict and designate 22 criminal groups, including the Tiguerones, terrorist organizations, more than two years before the US government did so.
SEE ALSO: Los Tiguerones Criminal Profile
But according to our investigations, the group has undergone significant fragmentation in recent years.
In Guayaquil, the Tiguerones have split into two rival factions, Los Fénix and Los Igualitos, which have aligned themselves with other criminal groups, including the Choneros and the Lobos. In Esmeraldas, in northwestern Ecuador, one of the Tiguerones’ main strongholds, the group has lost territory to the Lobos.
This fragmentation began with the arrest of William Joffre Alcívar Bautista, alias “Negro Willy” or “Willy,” the alleged leader of the Tiguerones, in Spain in October 2024. Although Ecuador requested his extradition, the Spanish government made it conditional on guarantees for his safety. In December 2025, Willy was released after the Ecuadorian government allegedly failed to provide those guarantees within the established deadline. He has remained in Spain, and his absence appears to have weakened the group’s chain of command in Ecuador and created power vacuums.
The Tiguerones emerged as an armed wing of the Choneros, one of Ecuador’s main criminal groups, in the late 2010s. At the time, Willy, who worked as a prison guard, allied himself with Jorge Luis Zambrano, alias “Rasquiña” or “JL,” the leader of the Choneros, to expand the organization’s presence into parts of Esmeraldas and Guayaquil.
Rasquiña’s murder in 2020 marked the Tiguerones’ split from the Choneros and the beginning of their rise in Ecuador’s criminal landscape.
Since then, the group has established itself as a major logistics operator in Ecuador for transnational drug trafficking networks, including the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). The Choneros, Lobos, and Chone Killers have also been designated as FTOs by the United States in Ecuador.
To learn more about the Tiguerones, read our full, updated profile here.
Facts Only
* The Tiguerones were added to the US State Department’s list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) this month.
* The group is not considered a cohesive organization despite the designation expanding US government powers.
* In Ecuador, the group has been linked to terrorist attacks, drug trafficking, extortion, and robbery.
* Ecuadorian police accused the group of being behind a car bomb outside a police station in Guayaquil in May 2022.
* Members of the group stormed a television station in Guayaquil during a live broadcast in January 2024.
* President Daniel Noboa declared an internal armed conflict and designated 22 criminal groups, including the Tiguerones, as terrorist organizations more than two years before the US designation.
* The group split into two rival factions in Guayaquil: Los Fénix and Los Igualitos, which aligned with the Choneros and Lobos.
* The group lost territory in Esmeraldas to the Lobos.
* William Joffre Alcívar Bautista, alleged leader "Negro Willy" or "Willy," was arrested in Spain in October 2024.
* Willy was released in December 2025 after the Ecuadorian government allegedly failed to provide guarantees.
* The Tiguerones emerged as an armed wing of the Choneros in the late 2010s, allied with Jorge Luis Zambrano.
* The group has operated as a major logistics operator for transnational drug trafficking networks, including the CJNG.
* The Choneros, Lobos, and Chone Killers have also been designated as FTOs by the United States in Ecuador.
Executive Summary
The Tiguerones, an Ecuadorian criminal group, were added to the US State Department's list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. Although this designation expands US government powers to target the group and its networks, the organization is not considered cohesive. In Ecuador, the group has been implicated in various criminal activities including drug trafficking, extortion, and robbery. Police accusations included links to a car bomb in Guayaquil in May 2022 and an incident at a television station in January 2024. President Daniel Noboa declared an internal armed conflict and designated 22 criminal groups, including the Tiguerones, as terrorist organizations more than two years prior to the US designation.
The group has experienced fragmentation, splitting into rival factions like Los Fénix and Los Igualitos in Guayaquil, which have allied with other criminal groups such as the Choneros and the Lobos. Territory has also been lost in Esmeraldas to the Lobos. This fragmentation stems partly from the release of William Joffre Alcívar Bautista, an alleged leader, in December 2025 following Ecuador’s failure to provide extradition guarantees to Spain. The Tiguerones originated as an armed wing of the Choneros in the late 2010s, with its split from the Choneros occurring after the murder of Jorge Luis Zambrano. Since then, the group has functioned as a major logistics operator for transnational drug trafficking networks, including the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), and other groups like the Choneros, Lobos, and Chone Killers have also been designated by the US.
Full Take
The narrative illustrates the friction between formal state recognition and on-the-ground reality of criminal group dynamics. The transition from viewing the Tiguerones as a cohesive entity to recognizing their fragmentation, influenced by internal leadership disputes and territorial losses, challenges the initial framing provided by external designations. This suggests that international categorization often operates on an idealized structure that does not reflect complex, adaptive internal shifts within non-state actors.
The key dynamic is the interplay between formal legal action (FTO designation) and localized power structures. The fragmentation of the Tiguerones into factions like Los Fénix and Los Igualitos, and their subsequent alignments with other criminal entities, demonstrates that control is fluid rather than monolithic. This fluidity was exacerbated by external events, such as the release of a key figure whose absence created vacuums in command. The historical context—the emergence from the Choneros and the resulting splintering—highlights how internal conflicts shape geopolitical relevance.
What emerges is an illustration of systemic instability where official classifications attempt to impose static definitions onto dynamic, evolving criminal landscapes. The implication for human agency is that external powers risk miscalculating strategic leverage if they base action on outdated organizational charts rather than real-time factional alliances and leadership vacuums. The next step in understanding this is recognizing how the legal and operational realities of fragmentation influence future transnational enforcement strategies.
Bridge questions: How do the competing claims of power among the rival factions (Los Fénix, Los Igualitos, Choneros) affect their ability to respond to external pressures? What are the long-term consequences for stability when leadership vacuums persist within these fractured groups? If states rely on externally designated labels, what mechanisms can better account for organizational flux in contemporary security analysis?