Alias ‘Gerente’ admits responsibility for money laundering in Comandos de la Frontera case

Roberto Carlos Álvarez, known as ‘Gerente’, acknowledged responsibility for money laundering during the ninth day of the Comandos de la Frontera trial and offered $300,000 as comprehensive reparations.

The declaration came as defense teams presented evidence before the court. Proceedings continue against 17 individuals and five companies in a case that prosecutors say involves nearly $398 million in suspicious financial activity.

According to the Fiscalía, the defendants allegedly moved $397.7 million through Ecuador’s financial system between 2015 and 2025. Heavy transport, livestock and other companies allegedly helped introduce money of illicit origin into the formal economy. Investigators say the funds may be linked to drug trafficking and other crimes.

The investigation began in November 2024 after Ecuador’s Financial and Economic Analysis Unit issued a report on unusual and unjustified operations. Authorities later conducted 62 simultaneous raids on Sept. 9, 2025, across Tungurahua, Cotopaxi, Guayas, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, Sucumbíos, Orellana, Pichincha and Esmeraldas. They arrested 15 people and seized cash, firearms, electronic devices and financial records.

A judge sent 19 individuals and five legal entities to trial in April 2026, while keeping 16 defendants, including Álvarez, in pretrial detention. Ecuadorian authorities identify Álvarez as the alleged leader of Comandos de la Frontera, a group operating mainly along the Ecuador-Colombia border. He was arrested in the United Arab Emirates and transferred to Ecuador in late December 2025. He is held at the maximum-security El Encuentro prison in Santa Elena.

Authorities have also linked Comandos de la Frontera to an ambush in Alto Punino in May 2025 that killed 11 Ecuadorian soldiers. The tribunal must still determine the defendants’ individual responsibility and penalties.