Once a small street gang, the Chone Killers have grown into one of Ecuador’s most violent and sophisticated criminal organizations. Originally allied with the Choneros, the group has become a major criminal force in its own right, involved in extortion, kidnapping, drug dealing, and contract killings across the coastal province of Guayas. This week, they made headlines after police captured Jorge P., a financier and direct link to Cristhian P., alias “Gato Celi,” the leader of a Chone Killers faction operating in Durán.
