Ecuador captures ‘Fito’, country’s most wanted fugitive gang leader

Jose Adolfo Macias, alias ‘Fito’, is owed to beryllium extradited to the US connected cause trafficking and weapons smuggling charges.

The fugitive person of Ecuador’s Los Choneros pack has been recaptured aft astir 18 months connected the run, according to President Daniel Noboa.

Jose Adolfo Macias, besides known arsenic “Fito”, escaped from Guayaquil situation successful January 2024, wherever helium was serving a 34-year condemnation for cause trafficking and murder.

Following his capture, Macias volition present beryllium extradited to the US, wherever helium was indicted by a national tribunal for charges related to cause trafficking and firearms smuggling, Noboa said connected the X societal media level connected Wednesday.

Noboa had antecedently offered $1m for assistance successful Macias’s seizure and dispatched thousands of constabulary officers and members of the equipped forces to find him.

“My designation to our constabulary and subject who participated successful this operation. More volition fall, we volition reclaim the country. No truce,” Noboa said connected X.

Para los que se opusieron y dudaron de la necesidad de las leyes de Solidaridad e Inteligencia: gracias a esas leyes, Fito fue capturado hoy y está en manos del Bloque de Seguridad.

Mi reconocimiento a nuestros policías y militares que participaron en esta operación. Caerán más,…

— Daniel Noboa Azin (@DanielNoboaOk) June 25, 2025

Macias reportedly escaped up of his transportation to a maximum-security prison, but authorities person yet to explicate however helium succeeded.

The palmy flight “triggered wide riots, bombings, kidnappings, the assassination of a salient prosecutor, and an equipped onslaught connected a TV web during a unrecorded broadcast”, according to the United States government, starring Noboa to state a 60-day authorities of exigency crossed Ecuador.

The Ecuadorian president besides designated 22 gangs, including Los Choneros, arsenic “terrorist groups”.

The US Department of the Treasury separately sanctioned some Macias and Los Choneros successful February 2024 for cause trafficking and instigating unit crossed Ecuador.

Ecuador was erstwhile 1 of Latin America’s astir peaceful countries, but its proximity to Peru and Colombia – the world’s apical producers of cocaine – has made it a premier people for transgression groups exporting drugs abroad.

Competition betwixt rival section gangs, backed by overseas transgression syndicates from Mexico to arsenic acold arsenic Albania, has led to an detonation successful unit crossed the country.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies