QUITO - Ecuador's attorney general's office and national police said on Monday they have recaptured a well-known alleged leader of the Los Lobos gang - Fabricio Colon Pico Suarez - who escaped from prison in January.

Pico, who is accused of plotting an attack on the attorney general, among other crimes, escaped from a penitentiary in Riobamba amid a wave of violence across Ecuador which included the invasion of a live television broadcast by armed gunmen.

He was recaptured in Puerto Quito, in Pichincha province, police said.

Pico, whose criminal alias is Captain Pico, according to authorities, had been listed as one of the most wanted criminals in the country.

Two others who escaped with Pico were detained at the same time, the attorney general's office said on X.

Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa won significant voter support over the weekend for a raft of security measures he says will help him fight sharply increased crime. REUTERS