Ecuador jails three over 579 kg of marijuana in bus crash that killed 24
An Ecuadorian court in July 2019 sentenced three survivors of the crashed 'narcobús' to prison, including the driver at 17 years and four months, and acquitted a fourth defendant. The bus, which left Cali for Peru, was carrying 579.119 kg of marijuana when it crashed near Quito in August 2018; by August 2019, 16 people had been arrested and eight convicted in Ecuador and Colombia.
The driver’s fine came to 23,640 dollars, the court in Quito said.[1]
El Tiempo reported 24 people killed in the crash and three convicted in Ecuador
that July.[2]Sixteen people had been arrested for drug trafficking in the
case by August 2019.[2]
Eight of them had been convicted: three in Ecuador in July 2019 and five in
Colombia.[2]Colombian prosecutors said Juan Gabriel Céspedes González
coordinated the July 2018 shipment, loaded in Cali with Chile as its final
destination, where the marijuana would triple in value.[2]The Colombian
convictions were against members of a band called Los Mercaderes de la Frontera,
which prosecutors said kept sending drug-loaded buses south by the same method.[2]In Ibagué, Jairo Espinosa Méndez, known as ‘Gafas’, and his wife Lina
Ximena Pinzón Cárdenas were each sentenced in 2019 to 10 years and 10 months.[2]Ana Lucía Salamanca Mendieta received four years in prison and Érika
Tatiana Pinzón Cárdenas two years and eight months.[2]Luis Adolfo Castro
Villanueva, arrested in August 2018 guarding about 100 kilos of marijuana, was
the first member convicted, drawing five years and four months in April 2019.[2]José Ómar Araque Ortiz, arrested in Pereira in September 2018, was
sentenced in 2019 to six years and three months.[2]Claudia Orozco, who
promoted the cut-price tour in Ecuador, was held in a Bogotá prison on an
Interpol red notice requested by an Ecuadorian judge.[2]
Photos and video
The wrecked tourist bus after the 14 August 2018 crash on the Pifo–Papallacta road. Photo: EFEPhoto details
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Source: El TiempoProsecutors and police officers with a suspect arrested in Santander de Quilichao, Cauca, in the network that loaded the marijuana onto the bus. Photo: Fiscalía, via TwitterPhoto details
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Source: El TiempoMarijuana, bazuco and cocaine laid out after the raids on the Ibagué homes of the accused. Photo: Fiscalía General de la NaciónPhoto details
El Paíselpais.com.coESSentencian a prisión en Ecuador a tres de los cuatro capturados por caso 'narcobús'
El Tiempoeltiempo.comESMafia del 'narcobús' seguiría enviando toneladas de droga a Suramérica
Open questions the AI reported
Ecuador's prosecutor general reported 23 people killed and 22 injured, El Tiempo 24 killed and 22 injured, and El País 24 killed and 19 injured; this report uses 24 deaths from El Tiempo.
El País reported that the bus carried 680 kg of marijuana, while the prosecutor general's office and its written judgment put the load at 579.119 kg.
El Tiempo names the distributor held in the Ibagué raids both as Érika Tatiana Nieto Tinoco and, in the sentencing passage, as Érika Tatiana Pinzón Cárdenas; the conviction is reported under the latter.
The reports do not say whether Jesús David Santofimio, described as the band's alleged leader, was tried or sentenced, and the charges against Juan Gabriel Céspedes González were still pending.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in Fiscalía General del Estado: An Ecuadorian criminal court sentenced three survivors of the crashed bus to prison for large-scale drug trafficking and acquitted a fourth defendant.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in Fiscalía General del Estado: The driver, Christian Parra Silva, was given 17 years and four months in prison and a fine of 60 unified basic salaries.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in Fiscalía General del Estado: Dennis Juliette Bueno Cardona and Germán Andrés Gutiérrez each received eight years and eight months and a fine of 30 basic salaries.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in Fiscalía General del Estado: The bus left Cali for Máncora in Peru and crashed on the Pifo–Papallacta road, a two-hour drive from Quito, in the early hours of 14 August 2018.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in Fiscalía General del Estado: Officers who searched the wrecker found 579.119 kilograms of marijuana packed under the floor of the bus.
Ecuador's National Police stopped an interprovincial bus at the Km 24 circuit and found 4,153 grams of marijuana hidden in a passenger's backpack. A Colombian man identified as the luggage's owner was detained and placed at the disposal of the judicial authority.
A court in Quevedo sentenced David T. to 19 years in prison for trafficking 2,720 grams of marijuana found in a house in the 7 de Octubre parish in September 2025. The offence of high-scale trafficking carries 19 to 22 years.
A court in Loja sentenced Pablo S. to 22 years in prison on 28 September 2026 for trafficking 731 kg of cannabis found hidden in metal scaffolding near the Peruvian border. Four co-defendants were acquitted.
A court in Macará sentenced Eduardo V. to 22 years for large-scale drug trafficking after police found 1,299.65 kg of marijuana hidden in metal beams in a truck. Prosecutors said the load was bound for Peru and then Chile.
