William Joffre Alcívar Bautista, alias “El Negro Willy” or just “Willy,” went from prison guard to founder of Ecuador’s Tiguerones gang. Under his leadership, the group—labeled a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the United States—came to dominate key drug routes in the cities of Guayaquil and Esmeraldas and carried out the brazen January 2024 takeover of TC Televisión. Arrested in Spain in October 2024, Willy was released in December 2025 after Ecuador did not provide Spain with sufficient safety guarantees. He remains free and is believed to be in Spain.

The US State Department designated Los Tiguerones as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) on September 9. US authorities cited the group’s alleged ties to drug trafficking and attacks against civilians, law enforcement officers, and journalists, including the Tiguerones’ takeover of TC Television in January 2024. The US has not issued a public arrest warrant or extradition request for Willy.

What is Willy’s Story?

Willy was born in 1989 in the northern coastal province of Esmeraldas. Around 2010, he moved from Esmeraldas to Guayaquil, and in 2012 took a job in Ecuador’s penitentiary system, working in several facilities in the Guayaquil prison complex. While employed as a guard, Willy began collaborating with criminal networks, facilitating contraband smuggling and assisting criminals in matters of enforcement and discipline.

Working in the prisons connected Willy to Jorge Luis Zambrano González, alias “Rasquiña,” then the leader of the Choneros, which was emerging as the country’s principal criminal group. Rasquiña became the foundational relationship in Willy’s criminal trajectory, bringing him into the Choneros’ nationwide expansion plan in the 2010s. In exchange, Willy offered his connections and networks in Esmeraldas and parts of Guayaquil. Around this time, Willy organized a clan-based faction in Esmeraldas with his brothers Alex Iván, alias “Ronco,” and Luis Ernesto, alias “Puya,” along with other relatives. This group would later form the core of the Tiguerones. 

Willy was arrested for the first time in 2017, accused of a kidnapping-murder in Esmeraldas. He was released after just months in prison after the case was dismissed for insufficient evidence in 2018. The Tiguerones established dominance over Esmeraldas when the region’s most influential gang leader, César Vernaza, alias “El Empresario,” was shot dead in his restaurant. No one was charged for the murder, but on the streets, the Tiguerones claimed credit. 

Following the murder of Choneros leader Rasquiña in 2020, Willy’s criminal trajectory changed. The Choneros fractured, and Willy led the Tiguerones into an alliance of former Choneros factions headed by the Lobos. The coalition, dubbed Nueva Generación (New Generation), reportedly ran drugs for the Mexico-based Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG). 

But few alliances lasted, and violence skyrocketed. Willy, seeking refuge, moved to Spain around 2023 from where he tried to maintain control of the Tiguerones while the power struggles continued and the battle with government forces amped up. 

In January 2024, these battles became international headlines. Shortly after the new Choneros leader, José Adolfo Macías Villamar, alias “Fito,” escaped from prison, riots broke out in the streets and the penitentiary system. Days after the jailbreak, armed Tiguerones stormed Guayaquil’s TC Televisión studio during a live broadcast, threatening hostages and flashing firearms, explosives, and gang signs on air. The gang members soon gave up their siege, but Ecuadorian authorities allege Willy ordered the dramatic takeover. Amidst the chaos, President Daniel Noboa declared an internal armed conflict against Ecuadorian gangs, naming 22 criminal groups as terrorist organizations, among them the Tiguerones. 

In October 2024, Willy and his brother, Ronco, were arrested in Tarragona, Spain, and he was held on organized crime and terrorism charges. Ecuador pursued two extradition cases against him, one tied to the TC Televisión attack and another to an alleged $20,000 extortion case. Spain conditionally approved his extradition in May 2025, pending prison-safety guarantees from Ecuador, but the Ecuadorian government missed the deadline, and Willy was released on December 29, 2025.

What Crimes is Willy Involved In?

Willy built the Tiguerones into a major organized crime network. Inside the prison, the group ran a highly profitable system of criminal governance based on extortion and contraband distribution. Ecuadorian authorities accuse Willy of leading extortion schemes, targeted killings, prison violence, and the 2024 television station takeover.  Willy also forged a relationship with the CJNG and established the group as service providers to transnational drug traffickers. The group was designated by the United States as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in September 2026.

Who Are Willy’s Allies and Enemies?

Willy’s most significant ally was the Choneros leader Rasquiña. The Tiguerones were an early Choneros’ ally. After Rasquiña’s death in 2020, Willy worked with the Lobos and the Chone Killers. Together, they formed the core of the New Generation. The New Generation targeted their old bosses, the Choneros, but by 2023, the alliance was fraying, and the Tiguerones, along with the Chone Killers, were soon back working with the Choneros. 

Within the Tiguerones, Willy empowered his family. Ronco was the group’s second in command, and his brother Puya was a key commander. Both have been arrested. The leadership vacuum led to internal power struggles between factions in Guayaquil. 

Where Does Willy Operate?

Willy’s last known location was in Spain. While it is unclear the extent of his involvement in day-to-day operations, the Tiguerones operate in Esmeraldas and parts of Northwest Guayaquil, including Socio Vivienda, with a broader presence across Guayas province.

Where is Willy Now?

Months after his release in December 2025 following the failed extradition process, Willy gave an interview to El Mundo. In it, he denied involvement in the TC Televisión attack and said he hopes to open a barber shop in Spain. For now, he is living off a used car business in Colombia. Since then, he has maintained a low profile, and his current whereabouts and level of involvement with the Tiguerones are unknown.