How Ecuador’s Gang Dynamics Are Driving Record Homicide Rates

By InSightCrime  |  January 14, 2025
Quito EcuadorQuito Ecuador. Image Source.
This article by Gavin Voss originally appeared on Insight Crime and is being published by ElSalvadorINFO.net under a Creative Commons icense.

The recent killing of a prominent Ecuadorian gang leader may further fuel violence in Durán, one of the country’s most violent municipalities and the drug gateway to the port of Guayaquil.

Assassins attacked Antonio Benjamín Camacho, alias “Ben 10,” in the early morning of December 28 in Cali´s Granada neighborhood, Colombian police sources told media outlet El Tiempo. He initially survived the attack but then lost control of his vehicle and crashed while trying to escape.

Ben 10 and his brother, Terry Israel Camacho, alias “Trompudo,” headed the Chone Killers, one of Ecuador’s most powerful criminal groups. The brothers have appeared near the top of Ecuador’s most-wanted criminals list, alongside leaders like Choneros boss Adolfo Macías Villamar, alias “Fito.”

Following the attack on Ben 10, Ecuadorian news outlet Ecuavisa reported that Trompudo was also killed. However, at the time of publication, neither country’s authorities had publicly confirmed the alleged murders of Ben 10 and Trompudo.

In an interview with InSight Crime, Durán police chief Lieutenant Colonel Roberto Santamaría confirmed reports that Ben 10 was killed, but rejected media claims about Trompudo’s death.

“The body of Ben 10 did arrive in Ecuador, was mourned, and was buried. The body [of Trompudo] never arrived and it is confirmed that he is still alive,” Santamaría said.

The Chone Killers are notorious for their brutal conflict with the Latin Kings gang in Durán, a municipality near coastal Guayaquil.

The area, lining the Guayas River with easy access to Guayaquil’s port system, has become a strategic cocaine trafficking hub for criminal groups. Durán’s gangs also battle over territory for extortion, kidnapping, and drug dealing.

Conflict between the Latin Kings and Chone Killers has been the driving force behind soaring violence in Durán that began in mid-2023, making the municipality one of the most dangerous in the Americas with a homicide rate of 147 per 100,000 residents (456 murders) in 2023.

Durán fared little better in 2024. Amid the government’s militarized crackdown on organized crime that began in January, homicides in Durán reached new highs. The municipality finished the year with over 470 murders (about 149 per 100,000), local media sources reported.

The violence continued into early 2025. On December 29, hitmen killed Marcelo Molina, husband of former mayor Alexandra Arce, outside the couple’s house in Durán’s Abel Gilbert 3 neighborhood.

Authorities also attributed a killing spree in the first two weeks of 2025 to the ongoing war between the Chone Killers and Latin Kings, local media reported.

SEE ALSO: Latin America Homicide Rate

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The murder of Ben 10 indicates further trouble in Durán, where constant fragmentation of the municipality’s gangs has helped ignite a never-ending spiral of violence.

Before his death, the Chone Killers had already seen internal divisions. Founded by the Camacho brothers from a branch of the Ñetas street gang in the 2010s, the group saw new leaders like Julio Alberto Martínez, alias “Negro Tulio,” begin to assert their independence and challenge established authority.

A September 2024 InSight Crime investigation on criminal dynamics in Durán found internal splits had led to significant violence between factions of the group.

Internal strife may compound as other leaders rise to fill Ben 10’s shoes. Negro Tulio could be poised to gain more influence within the group, while other leaders like Gutemberg Andrés Rodríguez, alias “Bob Marley,” and Cristhian Eduardo Pastor, alias “Gato Celi,” could also stand to gain.

Despite these shifts, Santamaría has not yet seen a power vacuum in Durán, emphasizing that Trompudo, whom he asserts was not killed in the attack, still controls the brothers’ faction within the Chone Killers.

Santamaría did, however, underscore that “multi-leadership” has come to define criminal groups in Ecuador, resulting in significant intra-gang conflict.

SEE ALSO: El Salvador Tops Security Perceptions While Chile and Ecuador See Declines

“Within the organization, if they do not agree with each other, they are also targeted and eliminated,” Santamaría told InSight Crime. “Only the name of the gang prevails.”

The pattern of leaders residing outside Ecuador could be a response to rival attacks, especially amid the government’s vigorous crackdown on organized crime.

This trend includes notable incidents such as Ben 10’s murder abroad, the 2024 capture of Negro Tulio in Panama, and the arrest of Tiguerones leader William Joffre Alcívar, “Negro Willy,” in Spain.

Santamaría further noted that these leaders residing abroad are not just seeking new criminal opportunities and connections, but are primarily motivated by the need for safety and freedom.

“It is very difficult for them to circulate in Ecuador because they have a price on their heads and they are more susceptible to the disloyalty of the members of their organization,” he told InSight Crime.

This article by Gavin Voss originally appeared on Insight Crime and is being published by ElSalvadorINFO.net under a Creative Commons icense.