A secret Chinese police station allegedly shut down in Quito, Ecuador in May 2024 appears to still be operating, according to new investigative reports. Originally disguised as a “travel agency,” the station was used to monitor dissidents and conduct espionage, mirroring similar illegal operations run by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) worldwide. Local outlets Código Vidrio and Vistazo now report that Chinese operatives, linked to the CCP, have continued surveillance activities from a different location.
The original station operated under Andywei Travel, based in a hotel owned by the China Road and Bridge Corporation. It was reportedly closed after an exposé revealed its real function. However, evidence indicates that surveillance efforts never stopped. The businessman behind the operation, 41-year-old Wei Fuyan, remains active in Ecuador and retains financial ties and influence in the region.
Wei, identified as a CCP United Front member, is connected to groups responsible for foreign influence campaigns and ideological control abroad. He holds leadership roles in multiple Chinese diaspora organizations and operates Chinese-language media in Ecuador. Intelligence sources describe him as one of three key figures leading Beijing’s surveillance and smuggling operations in the country.
Wei is under confidential investigation by Ecuadorian tax authorities. Despite the supposed closure of his agency, financial documents show he and his team continue to receive salaries, and his associated businesses remain active. One of these companies, operating from the same site as the original station, holds over $10,000 in local accounts.
Reports also link Wei to a suspected smuggling network used to bring Chinese nationals into the United States. Though official travel records do not indicate his return to Ecuador after a trip to China in late 2023, intelligence believes he may have re-entered via Colombia.
China’s influence in Ecuador grew under former socialist President Rafael Correa, who forged deep financial and infrastructure ties with Beijing. Correa, now a convicted fugitive, signed contracts that left Ecuador heavily indebted to China, allowing the CCP control over key natural resources. Journalist Fernando Villavicencio, who condemned these ties, was assassinated in 2023 after years of exposing Chinese infiltration.
Xi Jinping visited Ecuador in 2016, declaring it a foundation for deeper cooperation. Today, Beijing’s continued operation of illegal police stations in Latin America raises alarms about foreign espionage, sovereignty violations, and ideological subversion across the Western Hemisphere.
