US extradites ex-minister to Ecuador, investigated in Villavicencio murder

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa announced the extradition of former minister José Serrano from the United States, where he had been detained by immigration services since last year. Serrano is under investigation for his alleged involvement in the 2023 assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio.

Noboa stated that Serrano is the "new guest" at the 'Cárcel del Encuentro,' the president's flagship security facility. This prison is designed to isolate leaders of major criminal organizations, similar to facilities in El Salvador. Former Vice President Jorge Glas is also currently held in this prison.

"We said it, we did it. José Serrano, interior minister under (former president Rafael) Correa, new guest of El Encuentro," Noboa posted on X, sharing photos of Serrano on a plane escorted by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

Serrano is among those accused by Ecuador's Prosecutor's Office of being the intellectual authors behind Villavicencio's murder. The candidate was shot and killed by Colombian hitmen as he left a rally in Quito, just eleven days before the extraordinary elections that Noboa ultimately won.

Serrano, who has lived in the United States since 2021, was detained on August 7, 2025, for allegedly overstaying his visa. He had argued that he was in the process of seeking political asylum. Throughout his time as a powerful figure in security policy under Rafael Correa, Serrano has consistently denied any connection to the Villavicencio case. He argues it is illogical to link him to the Los Lobos criminal group, who carried out the assassination and also murdered his brother, Juan Antonio Serrano.