Jorge Luis Zambrano

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Zambrano and the second or maternal family name is González.
Jorge Luis Zambrano
Born
Jorge Luis Zambrano González

(1981-10-03)3 October 1981
Manta, Ecuador
Died28 December 2020(2020-12-28) (aged 39)
Manta, Ecuador
Cause of deathGunshot wound
Other names
  • Rasquiña
Occupation
AllegianceLos Choneros

Jorge Luis Zambrano González (3 October 1981 – 28 December 2020), also known by the alias Rasquiña, was an Ecuadorian drug trafficker. He was the leader of Los Choneros from 2007 until his murder in 2020.

Early life

Zambrano was born on 3 October 1981 in Manta, Ecuador.[1]

Criminal career

Zambrano became the leader of Los Choneros after the murder of their founder, Jorge Véliz alias "Teniente España".[2] In 2008, he was arrested for the first time by the police in an anti-narcotics operation, but he was released a year later as he had not received a sentence.[3] In September 2011, he was captured again by the police, this time in Guayaquil for his participation in the murder of a man in the Manabí Province. According to the police, Zambrano was involved in at least 14 murders.[4] In 2012, he was accused of murder again, this time of another inmate who was held in the same prison as him.[3]

On February 11, 2013, Zambrano escaped with 17 other members of Los Choneros from La Roca Prison, in Guayaquil.[3] To carry out the escape, they immobilized 14 prison guides and escaped by boat on the Daule River.[5] The Minister of the Interior, José Serrano, announced a reward of 100,000 US dollars for the capture of Zambrano. Nine months later he was detained in an exclusive sector of the city of Bogotá by the Colombian police and extradited back to Ecuador. He was then taken to the Zone 8 Deprivation of Liberty Center, considered at that time the safest prison in the country.[3]

In 2015, Zambrano was sentenced as an accessory to murder to an eight-year sentence, but two years later he was declared a co-author of the crime and the sentence was increased to twenty years. However, in 2019 a judge changed the sentence again, this time to seven years.[6] During his stay in prison he continued to manage the organization's criminal operations. In 2019, he was accused of having been involved in the entry of a fake ambulance into the Guayaquil prison, the same one that was transporting a refrigerator, firearms and bottles of liquor.[5] However, months later he was separated from the process due to lack of tests.[3]

In June 2020, Zambrano was released from the Cotopaxi Social Rehabilitation Center after Judge Alzira Benítez accepted his request to access pre-release for having served more than 90% of his sentence, a fact for which the Judiciary Council initiated a disciplinary summary against Judge Benítez.[6] He began a dispute for control of Los Choneros with two other members of the organization.[5] A month after his release, the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja granted him the title of lawyer, which Zambrano obtained through distance learning during his stay in prison.[7]

Death

On 28 December 2020, Zambrano was murdered in a cafeteria in a shopping center in Manta by an unknown person who shot him at point-blank range. He had gone to the scene in the company of his wife and his daughter, as well as personnel who offered him protection, but his attacker took advantage of the moment when his companions withdrew to intercept him. The incident caused the evacuation of the shopping center.[8] A day after the incident, the police announced that they were investigating a possible relationship between the murder of Zambrano and that of politician Patricio Mendoza, which occurred days before in the city of Quevedo.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Cómo obtuvo el poder alias Raquiña y lo que se reveló sobre la pugna dentro de 'Los Choneros'" (in Spanish). Vistazo. 2020-12-30. Archived from the original on 2020-12-30. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  2. ^ ""Los Choneros", más de una década de violencia". El Diario. Archived from the original on 2017-09-26. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
  3. ^ a b c d e Carrión, Stalin (2020-12-30). "13 años le duró el 'reinado' a Rasquiña". Extra. Archived from the original on 2021-01-04. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
  4. ^ "Capturan en Guayaquil al presunto líder de la banda de 'Los Choneros'". La República. 2011-10-07. Archived from the original on 2020-10-27. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
  5. ^ a b c Ortiz, Sara (2020-12-29). "¿Quién era alias 'Rasquiña', el hombre asesinado en un mall de Manta?". El Comercio. Archived from the original on 2020-12-29. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
  6. ^ a b "Líder de la banda Los Choneros, alias Rasquiña, ya salió de la cárcel de Cotopaxi con prelibertad". El Universo. 2020-06-06. Archived from the original on 2020-06-07. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
  7. ^ "Líder de la banda Los Choneros se graduó de abogado". Extra. 2020-07-24. Archived from the original on 2020-07-26. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
  8. ^ "Líder de la banda de Los Choneros fue asesinado a balazos en el interior de un centro comercial de Manta". El Universo. 2020-12-28. Archived from the original on 2021-01-03. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
  9. ^ Medina, Fernado (2020-12-29). "Policía investiga posible relación entre el asesinato del líder de 'Los Choneros' y el crimen del exasambleísta Patricio Mendoza". El Comercio. Archived from the original on 2020-12-29. Retrieved 2021-01-04.