• Angel Esteban Aguilar, alias "Lobo Menor," arrested in Mexico City airport.
• Aguilar is linked to the 2023 assassination of Ecuadorean presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio.
• The arrest involved collaboration among Mexico, Ecuador, and Colombia's law enforcement agencies.
• Colombia's President Gustavo Petro hailed the action as significant against transnational organized crime.
• The US has classified Aguilar's group, Los Lobos, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.

Angel Esteban Aguilar, known by the alias "Lobo Menor," was arrested at Mexico City's international airport while attempting to enter the country using false identification, according to Reuters and Al Jazeera. Aguilar is wanted in connection with the murder of Ecuadorean presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, reportedly orchestrating the crime during a campaign rally in Quito in 2023.

The arrest was the result of a coordinated effort involving authorities from Mexico, Ecuador, and Colombia, who had been tracking Aguilar following an Interpol red notice issued against him. "This result represents a significant blow against transnational organized crime," Colombian President Gustavo Petro stated, adding that Aguilar is linked to drug trafficking and extortion activities, according to BBC and Reuters.

Aguilar's arrest comes amid increasing pressure from the Biden administration and local governments in Latin America to tackle organized crime aggressively. According to this pressure, the United States has classified Los Lobos as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, which has sparked both international and national discussions about strategies to combat drug trafficking, as noted by Al Jazeera and BBC.