Ecuador gang leader Fito removed from prison for US extradition
Fito, the head of the Los Choneros criminal organization, was photographed in handcuffs, wearing a helmet and a vest, as authorities escorted him out of detention.
His removal follows his dramatic escape last year from an Ecuadorian prison, where he was serving a 34-year sentence for multiple serious crimes.
He was recaptured last month after an extensive manhunt.
The extradition process marks a significant step in international efforts to combat organized crime.
Fito's Los Choneros gang has been linked to drug trafficking, violent crimes, and prison riots in Ecuador.
His transfer underscores the growing cooperation between Ecuador and the US in tackling transnational criminal networks. - Reuters
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Ukraine anti-corruption chief says his agency faces 'dirty information campaign'
Semen Kryvonos, Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, speaks during an interview with Reuters, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 25, 2025. REUTERS/Yurii Kovalenko KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine's top anti-corruption investigator said on Friday that he did not expect attempts to derail his agency's work to end, despite an abrupt U-turn by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on curbing their independence that fuelled rare wartime protests. Semen Kryvonos, director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), said he was taken aback by attempts this week to curtail his agency's fight against graft but did not name those who may have been behind the legislation. "Everyone united around the idea of ruining our independence," Kryvonos told Reuters in an interview in Kyiv, referring to parliament passing the controversial measures. "This was a shock for me - how much demand had built up to destroy us." He spoke a day after Zelenskiy sought to defuse tensions by submitting legislation restoring the independence of NABU and its sister agency, the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO). Thousands of protesters took part in protests in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities this week after lawmakers fast-tracked a bill granting a Zelenskiy-appointed general prosecutor power over the two bodies. The move had also threatened Kyiv's ties with the European Union and Western donors which have been a critical source of financial and military support during Russia's war in Ukraine. Kryvonos applauded Zelenskiy's reversal, but said NABU and SAPO remain a high-priority target for vested interests aiming to stymie their closely watched efforts to clean up. Parliament will consider Zelenskiy's new bill in a special session next week. But Kryvonos worries corrupt actors will step up a "dirty information campaign" already being waged against NABU on widely read anonymous Telegram channels, casting the agency as slow or ineffective. He did not identify the exact sources of resistance to his agency's work, saying only that they are "various representatives of the government, various financial groups". "Everyone who is offended by NABU and SAPO will be pushing out this message," Kryvonos said. 'SYSTEMIC WORK' AND THREATS Since Russia's February 2022 invasion, Ukraine has stepped up a campaign to eradicate the pervasive graft that has plagued its political culture for decades. Stamping out corruption is both critical to Kyiv's bid to join the EU and its effort to erase a legacy of autocracy and Russian rule. NABU and SAPO, launched with Western support after a 2014 revolution toppled a pro-Russian president, have levelled charges against lawmakers and senior government officials. In recent months, Kryvonos's agency has uncovered huge real estate schemes in the capital Kyiv and accused a then deputy prime minister of taking a $345,000 kickback. Kryvonos suggested such efforts had led to a sweeping crackdown this week that paved the way for the rollback of NABU's and SAPO's powers. Two NABU officials were arrested for suspected ties to Russia and nearly 20 other agency employees searched over lesser alleged infractions in a campaign critics said went too far. "All of this was a result of systemic work by NABU and SAPO, especially over the past half-year," he said, adding that he had also received "a huge amount" of threats. Despite winning a hard-fought victory this week, he said resistance was still widespread enough across the political landscape to pose a serious challenge. He cited the controversial law that had been supported by most of Zelenskiy's political party as well as opposition lawmakers and those associated with former pro-Russian factions. Political elites, Kryvonos said, "need to stop considering us as accept us as an important part of state institutions." (Editing by Timothy Heritage)
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
Violence in Mexican state of Sinaloa continues one year after 'El Mayo' Zambada's arrest in US
Members of the National Guard guard a crime scene where a man was gunned down, as violence and economic turmoil escalate in Culiacan one year after the abduction and extradition of Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada to the United States, in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, July 7, 2025. REUTERS/Jesus Bustamante Culiacan, Mexico (Reuters) -The street vendor said the few tourists who still visit Culiacan no longer look for posters of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and accused drug kingpinIsmael "El Mayo" Zambada, once the Mexican city's most famous residents. The posters, which for years were in high demand, have become symbolic of a spike in horrific violence sparked by an alleged betrayal that led to Zambada's arrest one year agoand fueled fighting within the Sinaloa cartel. "I imagine that at some point in my life, tourism will return to Culiacan," said Jazmin, who now sells a smattering of magnets, keychains, and mugs. She declined to share her last name because of the constant threat of violence in this once-bustling city of 1 million people. Friday marks one year since Zambada, one of Mexico's most infamous accused drug lords, was arrested at an airfield near El Paso, Texas, along with one of El Chapo's sons, Joaquin Guzman Lopez. Zambada says El Chapo's son, Joaquin, kidnapped him andturned him over to U.S. agents. The alleged betrayal was shocking. Prosecutors allege Zambada and "El Chapo" founded the Sinaloa cartel and represented different factions of the criminal organization. The arrests sparked a break in the group and triggered a wave of violence that continues. During the first six months of this year, authorities registered 883 homicides in Sinaloa compared to 224 during the same period a year earlier. The vast majority happened in Culiacan. The homicides may be just the beginning. Authorities say more than 1,500 people have gone missing in Sinaloa since September 2024, after Zambada's arrest. Security officials say criminal groups were involved in many of the disappearances. "Life in Culiacan is no longer the same," said a local official who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals. "There are no more parties here due to fear," he said, adding that schools prefer to hold classes online instead of in person. Security analysts say violence in the state is at the highest level since the last major split between criminal groups in 2008, when the Sinaloa cartel broke an alliance with the Beltran Leyva brothers' cartel. "It's one thing to break a pact through betrayal, as happened then, and another to hand over an important partner, as happened last year," said Tomas Guevara, an expert on security issues in Sinaloa, referring to Zambada's alleged abduction. "The situation is more gruesome these days,' he added. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has struggled to control the spiraling violence, sending thousands of heavily armed soldiers to Sinaloa to patrol the area, along with helicopters, armored vehicles, high-caliber weapons, and drones. Still, the discovery of corpses continues, sometimes piled up by the dozens. Bodies have been hung from bridges and mutilated with messages of revenge between rival groups. U.S. President Donald Trump said last week that Mexican authorities are "petrified" of the drug cartels and alleged they have enormous control in the country and over Mexican politicians. Sheinbaum said those allegations are blatantly untrue. Mexican Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch said on Sunday during a visit to Sinaloa that the government's priority is "restoring peace to families." Zambada said in February he was willing to plead guilty to charges related to drug trafficking, money laundering, and weapons possession if U.S. prosecutors take the death penalty off the table. (Reporting by Jesus Bustamente in Culiacan and Lizbeth Diaz in Mexico City; Edited by Adriana Barrera and Rod Nickel)
The Sun
7 hours ago
- The Sun
Indonesia court jails PDIP official in bribery case
JAKARTA: An Indonesian court on Friday sentenced a senior politician from the only opposition party in parliament to 3-1/2 years in jail, in a bribery case linked to a parliamentary appointment. Prosecutors had charged Hasto Kristiyanto, secretary general of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDIP, with bribing an election official with 57,530 Singapore dollars ($44,962) in exchange for a parliamentary seat for a politician he preferred. In last year's presidential election, the PDIP had backed a rival to Prabowo Subianto, who won by a landslide. Hasto was acquitted of another charge, of obstruction of justice, for helping the favoured politician to escape detention and tampering with evidence by submerging phones in water. 'It was proven legally and convincingly that the defendant provided the money ... It was proven that he gave money to a government official,' judge Sigit Herman Binaji said. However, it was not proven that Hasto had obstructed the bribery case by instructing his staff to submerge the phones in water, another judge said, adding that investigations into the matter continued. 'Praise to God that it was unproven for the obstruction of justice charge,' Hasto said at a press conference after the trial. Hasto's lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether his client would appeal. The investigation implicating Hasto began five years ago, during the presidency of Prabowo's predecessor Joko Widodo, who at the time was a PDIP member. Widodo severed ties with the party after it backed different candidates in the 2024 election. Some analysts view Widodo's tacit support for Prabowo, with Widodo's son running as Prabowo's vice president, as a key factor delivering Prabowo to high office. Last week, the same court sentenced Thomas Trikasih Lembong, a former trade minister and vocal government critic, to 4-1/2 years in jail for improperly granting sugar import permits. ($1 = 1.2795 Singapore dollars) - Reuters
