Ecuador recaptures gang leader wanted in the United States more than a year after his prison escape
The Ecuadorian army confirmed Macias' recapture in what appeared to be the basement of a house. A video provided by the army showed the moment of the arrest, with a uniformed officer aiming a gun at the head of the drug trafficker, who gave his full name. The officers had found him hiding in a small hole beneath what appeared to be a kitchen counter.
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Wednesday's announcement of his arrest comes in the same week that Federico Gómez, alias 'Fede,' the leader of another gang called Las Aguilas, was confirmed to have escaped from an Ecuadorian prison.
Last year, U.S. Attorney John Durham said in a news release that Macias led Los Choneros and its 'network of assassins and drug and weapon traffickers' since at least 2020.
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With an extensive criminal record including charges of murder and organized crime, Macías has cultivated a cult status among fellow gang members and the public in his home country.
While behind bars in 2023, he released a video addressed to 'the Ecuadorian people' while flanked by armed men. He also threw parties in prison, where he had access to everything from liquor to roosters for cockfighting matches.
The seven-count indictment unsealed in Brooklyn charges Macías and an unidentified co-defendant with international cocaine distribution, conspiracy and weapons counts, including smuggling firearms from the United States.
Los Choneros employed people to buy firearms, components and ammunition in the United States and smuggle them into Ecuador, according to the indictment. Cocaine would flow into the United States with the help of Mexican cartels.
'Los Choneros operated a vast network responsible for the shipment and distribution of multi-ton quantities of cocaine from South America through Central America and Mexico to the United States and elsewhere,' the indictment says.
Last year, the U.S. classified Los Choneros as one of the most violent gangs and affirmed its connection to powerful Mexican drug cartels who threaten Ecuador and the surrounding region.
Authorities in Ecuador have classified the gang as a terrorist organization. Earlier this month, the Ecuadorian government announced the reward for the capture of Macías would be increased to $1 million.
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New York Times
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Ecuador Captures Gang Leader Whose Prison Escape Set Off Violence
Ecuadorean security officials on Wednesday captured the gang leader known as 'Fito' whose escape in 2024 set off violence across the country. President Daniel Noboa of Ecuador announced the capture of the gang leader, José Adolfo Macías, on social media. 'We have done our part to proceed with Fito's extradition to the United States. We are awaiting their response,' Mr. Noboa wrote in Spanish. Mr. Macías is wanted by the United States on accusations of trafficking drugs and smuggling weapons. Mr. Macías, 45, leads the powerful Los Choneros gang, one of Ecuador's most violent criminal organizations. The U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of New York indicted him earlier this year on seven counts, including cocaine distribution. He escaped prison in Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city, in January 2024, when officers who had arrived to transfer Mr. Macías to a maximum-security prison discovered he was missing from his cell. The government declared a 60-day state of emergency while they searched for him, triggering riots in several prisons, gang attacks, kidnappings and bombings across the country. The U.S. Treasury Department placed sanctions on Mr. Macías and on Los Choneros in February of that year. On Wednesday, authorities found him hiding in an underground bunker in Manta, a city about 120 miles from Guayaquil, Interior Minister John Reimberg told reporters. The military released video footage of the operation, which involved the Ecuadorean police and armed forces, showing Mr. Macías shirtless and handcuffed as officers push him down to a tile floor. In the video, officers loaded Mr. Macías into an armored vehicle and put him on an Air Force plane to Guayaquil. In another video, taken by The Associated Press, he is being led off the plane wearing a dark blue shirt, gray shorts and flip-flops. He was being taken to prison, Mr. Reimberg said. Mr. Macías's escape came two months after Mr. Noboa's election. During his campaign for president, Mr. Noboa vowed to crack down on the gangs that had disrupted Ecuador's security. 'More will fall, we will reclaim the country. No truce,' Mr. Noboa wrote on social media on Wednesday. The U.S. Embassy in Quito, Ecuador's capital, congratulated officials for capturing Mr. Macías in a social media post. Mark A. Walsh contributed translation.
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Ecuador recaptures gang leader wanted in US more than a year after his prison escape
A fugitive drug trafficker wanted by authorities in Ecuador and the United States was recaptured more than a year after he escaped from prison in the Andean nation, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa announced Wednesday. José Adolfo Macías, alias 'Fito,' who led a gang called 'Los Choneros' in Ecuador and has been indicted in New York City on charges he imported thousands of pounds of cocaine into the United States, was captured in the Ecuadorian city of Manta, his hometown, officials in Ecuador said. Interpol had issued an arrest warrant for Macias after his mysterious prison escape in early 2024 from the Guayaquil Regional Prison, where he was serving a 34-year sentence for drug trafficking. Ecuadorian authorities have yet to explain how he escaped. Advertisement 7 Drug trafficker Adolfo Macias is captured by the Ecuadorean Army in Manta, Manabi Province, Ecuador on June 25, 2025. Ecuadorean Army/AFP via Getty Images They only learned of his escape when a military contingent arrived to transfer him to another maximum-security prison but didn't find him in his cell. The Ecuadorian army confirmed Macias' recapture in what appeared to be the basement of a house. Advertisement A video provided by the army showed the moment of the arrest, with a uniformed officer aiming a gun at the head of the drug trafficker, who gave his full name. The officers had found him hiding in a small hole beneath what appeared to be a kitchen counter. Wednesday's announcement of his arrest comes in the same week that Federico Gómez, alias 'Fede,' the leader of another gang called Las Aguilas, was confirmed to have escaped from an Ecuadorian prison. 7 A video provided by the army showed the moment of the arrest, with a uniformed officer aiming a gun at the head of the drug trafficker, who gave his full name. Ecuadorean Army/AFP via Getty Images Advertisement 7 The officers had found him hiding in a small hole beneath what appeared to be a kitchen counter. Getty Images 7 The Ecuadorian army confirmed Macias' recapture in what appeared to be the basement of a house. MAURICIO TORRES/EPA/Shutterstock Last year, US Attorney John Durham said in a news release that Macias led Los Choneros and its 'network of assassins and drug and weapon traffickers' since at least 2020. With an extensive criminal record including charges of murder and organized crime, Macías has cultivated a cult status among fellow gang members and the public in his home country. Advertisement While behind bars in 2023, he released a video addressed to 'the Ecuadorian people' while flanked by armed men. He also threw parties in prison, where he had access to everything from liquor to roosters for cockfighting matches. 7 Macias led Los Choneros and its 'network of assassins and drug and weapon traffickers' since at least 2020. AFP via Getty Images 7 With an extensive criminal record including charges of murder and organized crime, Macías has cultivated a cult status among fellow gang members and the public in his home country. Ecuadorean Army/AFP via Getty Images The seven-count indictment unsealed in Brooklyn charges Macías and an unidentified co-defendant with international cocaine distribution, conspiracy and weapons counts, including smuggling firearms from the United States. Los Choneros employed people to buy firearms, components and ammunition in the United States and smuggle them into Ecuador, according to the indictment. Cocaine would flow into the United States with the help of Mexican cartels. 'Los Choneros operated a vast network responsible for the shipment and distribution of multi-ton quantities of cocaine from South America through Central America and Mexico to the United States and elsewhere,' the indictment says. 7 Macias is escorted off a plane by soldiers and policemen after arriving in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on June 25, 2025. AP Advertisement Last year, the US classified Los Choneros as one of the most violent gangs and affirmed its connection to powerful Mexican drug cartels who threaten Ecuador and the surrounding region. Authorities in Ecuador have classified the gang as a terrorist organization. Earlier this month, the Ecuadorian government announced the reward for the capture of Macías would be increased to $1 million.
CNN
3 hours ago
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Video shows Ecuador's most wanted man and gang leader ‘Fito' captured
Ecuador's most wanted man and leader of the Los Choneros gang, Jose Adolfo Macias, known as 'Fito,' was captured on Wednesday, according to the country's President Daniel Noboa. He escaped from a prison in Guayaquil in January 2024, which unleashed a wave of violence in the country.
