
Notorious Ecuador gang boss Fito extradited to the US
The South American country's most-wanted fugitive vanished from prison in January 2024, with authorities desperately searching for him until he was finally recaptured last month.
"Fito" has an extensive criminal record including charges of murder and organised crime, and he was sentenced to 34 years behind bars in 2011.
While neither the US nor Ecuador have confirmed his extradition, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa previously said the move had been requested - and vowed that more notorious gang members "will fall".
0:36
The prisoner who lived like a king
Even after being thrown behind bars, "Fito" continued to serve as the leader of the Los Choneros gang up until his escape.
He also enjoyed access to mobile phones and the internet, watched TV and kept pets.
"His prison cell basically resembled a hotel room," Annette Idler, a professor of global security at the University of Oxford, previously told Sky News. "He had access to women who were brought to him," she adds. "It was a luxury room for him."
Colourful murals of the gang leader were even daubed across the prison walls, including one of him flanked by two assault rifles.
But then in January last year, he mysteriously vanished, leading to a nationwide manhunt. Officials are yet to explain how he escaped.
'Fito' recaptured
After more than a year in hiding, "Fito" was found in his hometown of Manta last month.
Footage from the Ecuadorian army showed a uniformed officer aiming a gun at the drug trafficker's head after finding him hiding in a small hole beneath a kitchen counter.
The announcement of his arrest came in the same week that another gang leader was confirmed to have escaped from an Ecuadorian prison.
Extradition to the US
"Fito" will now face court in the US following his reported extradition from Ecuador.
Flight data shows that a US government plane departed from Guayaquil after 2 pm local time on Sunday.
"Mr Macias and I will appear tomorrow before the Brooklyn federal court... where he will plead not guilty," his lawyer, Alexei Schacht, said. "After, he will be held in a to-be-determined prison."
The US Department of Justice has stated that under Macias' direction, Los Choneros committed violent acts against law enforcement, politicians, lawyers, prosecutors and civilians.
Ecuador's government says the gang exercises vast control over the nation's prisons, which are plagued by corruption and overcrowding.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Two children, 10 and 11, are among four shot after gunman opened fire at recreation center in Philadelphia
Two children enjoying an evening at their local pool were shot on Wednesday when a gunman opened fire at a recreation center in West Philadelphia. There were around 75 children in the pool at the Christy Rec Center pool at around 5pm when the unidentified assailant opened fire at people standing outside, shooting four people, including a 10 and an 11 year old, Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said at an evening news conference. The two children suffered graze wounds and 'will be fine,' along with an employee at the recreation center. A fourth individual between the ages of 17 and 20, however, is in 'very critical condition' after being shot multiple times in the back. It is now believed the gunman had gotten into a fight with other individuals at the recreation center hours before the shooting, and returned to the scene with a weapon. 'It's difficult for me today because I grew up here,' Bethel said. 'This is a pool that I grew up in. I lived only two blocks away. 'This was always a safe place for us as children to come,' he added, as he expressed his shock that parents who left their children to enjoy the pool had to 'pick them up at the hospital.' Bethel then vowed to bring all of those responsible for the shooting to justice. Mayor Cherelle Parker also vowed to take action. 'I want to be very clear that our swimming pools have to be, must be and will be safe havens for our young people and families, especially as we deal with the elements of this summer,' she said. 'We've got to do whatever it takes to make sure that that is the reality that we live.' The recreation center will now be closed on Thursday, as crisis counselors meet with those who were at the scene.


The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Man, 33, GUILTY of killing his ‘frail and vulnerable' vintage car expert grandfather, 81, after all-day drinking session
A 33-YEAR-OLD thug has been found guilty of killing "frail and vulnerable" grandfather after an all-day drinking session. Vintage car expert John Brown, 81, died six days after being attacked by Jakob Walpole, 33, a trial was told. 3 3 3 Well-known Jaguar restoration expert John suffered serious head injuries in his home at the hands of Walpole, who was convicted of John's manslaughter. The cowardly thug was also convicted of breaching a restraining order and assaulting two other elderly victims, a court heard today. Jurors were shown "haunting" footage of "world-renowned" restoration expert John pleading for help on a security camera before he was attacked by Walpole. He could be seen waving at the camera - said to be linked to his daughter, Walpole's mum - while in the garden before going back inside his bungalow. Less than four minutes later, Walpole was seen emerging from the property and from there headed to a village pub. He stayed at the hostelry for a matter of minutes before moving on to the working men's club. Prosecutor Michael Duck KC told jurors Walpole had been "drinking throughout the day" and committed two assaults at Bulkington Working Men's Club around an hour after attacking his grandfather on the night of November 23 last year. Mr Duck told jurors: "John Brown is Jakob Walpole's grandfather. He was a frail man and he had recently been diagnosed with the early stages of dementia. "He was plainly a vulnerable individual and the evidence will demonstrate that this defendant was acutely aware of that." John was well known in the local community, having run a successful car panel and body repair business due to his expertise in respect of vintage cars, the court heard. Earlier that evening, Walpole had been seen on CCTV footage arriving at Mr Brown's bungalow, before going inside and attacking the pensioner. Police summoned to the Browns' bungalow by their daughter found the pensioner "dazed and confused" and with significant injuries to his face and arms. Despite being rushed to hospital, over the following hours John suffered a bleed on the brain as a result of the attack and passed away six days later. Nursery plunged into lockdown after two killed in quadruple London stabbing He had also attended a match at Coventry City 's home stadium that lunchtime before visiting local pubs in the run-up to the spree of violence. After attacking his relative, the sick thug went on to smash a glass over the back of a working men's club customer's head in an incident caught on the "clearest possible" CCTV footage. Walpole then made "physical and direct contact" with a bar worker as he was physically removed from the club. Concerns about Walpole's "deteriorating behaviour" had led to a security camera being installed at his grandparents' home address in Bulkington. He was also already subject to a restraining order when he carried out the attack on his grandfather. Just days earlier, Walpole arrived at his grandparents' home in a drunken state, banged on windows and issued threats to kill his grandfather. Jurors were then asked to evaluate whether or not Walpole intended really serious harm in considering the murder charge, after watching CCTV images of Mr Brown making a "haunting" video gesturing towards the camera for help before the attack. Mr Duck said the jury "may think it was a gesture of desire for assistance". The prosecutor said at the beginning of the trial: "The reality is that on the 23rd of November, in drink, Jakob Walpole descended to a tirade of violence." 'ACT OF COWARDICE' Commenting after the case, Natalie Kelly, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Jakob Walpole carried out a senseless and brutal attack on his own grandfather who had tried to help him. "He showed no concern or remorse following the attack. "Rather than call for help, he callously left his vulnerable and elderly grandfather severely injured and went to a local pub where he assaulted two further elderly victims. "Everyone who knew Mr Brown saw how much he did for his grandson, often going out of his way to care and support him - but Walpole simply took advantage of his kindness. "While this conviction ensures Walpole is held accountable for his actions, the family have been left with a deep and lasting pain that no justice can erase." Walpole, of School Road, Bulkington, Warwickshire, will be sentenced next Monday. Detective Inspector Gareth Unett, who led the investigation for Warwickshire Police, said: "John Brown was a kind, gentle, hardworking man whose loss has left a huge void in the lives of his loved ones and friends. "Not only was he loved greatly by all those around him, he was known internationally as one of the best restorers of classic Jaguars. "The legacy he leaves is not only in the love and generosity he showed to those around him, but also in the countless classic cars that will survive for generations more thanks to his work. "Walpole's attack on his grandfather, who had shown him nothing but kindness and generosity, was an act of cowardice and brutality that, in decades of policing, I struggle to find a comparison for."


Sky News
2 hours ago
- Sky News
Woman murdered ex-partner on Christmas Day after seeing his Tinder profile
A woman who stabbed her ex-partner in the heart on Christmas Day after seeing his Tinder profile has been found guilty of his murder. Kirsty Carless, 33, plunged a knife into the heart of 31-year-old Louis Price in the early hours of 25 December 2024, in an attack "motivated by anger and jealousy and fuelled by cocaine and alcohol," after a friend sent her a picture of his Tinder profile, Stafford Crown Court heard. Carless had been on police bail for strangling Price the month before. After about a day of deliberations on Wednesday, a jury of seven men and five women found her guilty of murder and possession of an offensive weapon by unanimous verdicts regarding the fatal stabbing. Carless was also found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in connection with an incident in November 2024. She was cleared of intentional strangulation in relation to the same incident. Carless, of Cannock, Staffordshire, had been at the pub drinking double vodka and cokes with a male friend on Christmas Eve, the trial was told. She had sex with the male three times at his home before a female friend sent her a screenshot of Price's Tinder profile at around 1.30am on Christmas Day, which the court heard made her angry. Carless took a taxi back to her house, picked up a kitchen knife, and got another taxi to Mr Price's parents' home in Norton Canes, where she expected to find him with a woman. CCTV footage captured her sprinting up the front path into the house and then following him through the garden, before he was later discovered with a single stab wound to the chest on the conservatory floor. Carless made 45 calls to Price between 2.15am and 2.44am while waiting for a taxi. She only briefly paused what the prosecution described as a "barrage" of calls to contact the taxi company and check on its arrival. After arriving at the address around 3am, Carless asked the taxi driver to wait outside while she went into the property. The taxi driver reported that about 30 seconds after Carless entered the property with a key, he heard a "very loud and prolonged" scream. Carless was "anxious and sweating" as she got back into the taxi less than two minutes after arriving. She asked the driver to take her to her parents' home, where she confessed to what she had done, and the police were called. Price, a father of six children, was considered by police to be "at very high risk of domestic abuse," and Carless was on police bail at the time of the fatal stabbing, after strangling him in November 2024. During this incident, Price called 999 to say Carless had poured bleach over expensive tracksuits, after putting them in the bin, had thrown a glass candle holder at him, pulled him down the stairs, and choked him. Police body-worn camera footage showed him in tears, telling an officer, "It's f****** embarrassing… this can't keep happening, man." In a witness statement following the incident, he described the relationship, which began in 2021, as "generally abusive," saying she prevented him from doing activities he enjoyed, like playing football, and had physically assaulted him. Police were also called to several previous incidents, including one in March 2023, when Carless claimed that Price had punched her and had been violent. He was arrested, but Carless later retracted her statement. On another occasion, a neighbour recalled seeing Carless strike Price in the ribs with a metal pole outside her house. In her testimony at the trial, Carless said she had no memory of stabbing Price, insisted she was "not a violent person," and stated she had only gone to his address because she believed he had taken money from a card she kept at her home. Carless stated that she grabbed a knife to destroy the caravan where he was staying in his parents' backyard, that she "panicked" after stabbing him, and then fled.