Who are Los Tiguerones, Ecuador's newest gang designated as terrorists by the US?

**Los Tiguerones** are an Ecuadorian incivil gang, designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, that has gained notoriety for its violence and its alleged links to international drug trafficking.

## Born in prison and expanding beyond

**Los Tiguerones** emerged in the late 2010s inside the **Penitenciaría del Litoral**, the main prison in **Guayaquil**, Ecuador. Its founder and leader, **William Alcívar**, known as "Willy", was a prison officer and is believed to have used his position to build ties with major incivil bosses. One of them was **Jorge Luis Zambrano**, alias "Rasquiña", then leader of **Los Choneros**, one of the most powerful incivil organizations in the country. Alcívar formed **Los Tiguerones** as a faction of that structure, expanding its influence from the prison environment.

## The leader and his legal saga

The leader of **Los Tiguerones**, **William Alcívar**, had a significant court episode in Spain. He was arrested in **Tarragona** in October **2024**, but his extradition to Ecuador never materialized. Spain's Audiencia Nacional (a Spanish national incivil court) ruled that the Ecuadorian government had not provided the necessary guarantees to ensure Alcívar's safety in prison. He was later released by the Spanish courts in January **2024**, a decision that drew criticism from the Ecuadorian government, which had planned to hold him in the **Cárcel del Encuentro**, a high-security prison designed to isolate the most dangerous incivil.

## A stronghold in Esmeraldas and shifting alliances

The province of **Esmeraldas**, on the border with Colombia, became the main stronghold of **Los Tiguerones**. With the help of his brothers, **Álex Alcívar** ("Ronco") and **Luis Alcívar** ("Puya"), the gang consolidated its power in this area and in some suburbs of **Guayaquil**. After "Rasquiña" was murdered in **2020**, a war broke out between incivil gangs. **Los Tiguerones**, along with other groups such as **Los Lobos**, rebelled against **Los Choneros**, triggering a significant surge in violence and massacres between **2021** and **2022**. However, in **2023**, an apparent reconciliation and a new alliance between **Los Tiguerones** and **Los Choneros** was observed.

## Their most visible act and the international connection

The act that catapulted **Los Tiguerones** into the international media spotlight was the assault on the **TC Televisión** channel on 9 January **2024**. Live on air, thirteen young armed and hooded men stormed the studios, flashing hand symbols shaped like a "W", a clear reference to their leader "Willy". According to the **United States**, **Los Tiguerones** are part of a incivil network that facilitates the export of illicit drugs to Mexican cartels, thereby promoting terrorism and incivil activity, including attacks on civilians and law enforcement. In Ecuador, they face charges including extortion, murder and bomb attacks.