Ecuador recaptures gang leader 'Fito' indicted by U.S.
GUAYAQUIL - Ecuador's most-wanted fugitive, the leader of the Los Choneros criminal group, has been recaptured after escaping jail last year, President Daniel Noboa said on Wednesday.
Jose Adolfo Macias, known as "Fito," disappeared from the Guayaquil prison where he was being held in January 2024, amid an explosion of violence including the on-air invasion of a television station by armed men and the hostage-taking of more than 200 prison officials.
"My recognition to our police and military who participated in this operation. More will fall, we will reclaim the country. No truce," said Noboa, whose government had offered a reward of $1 million for information leading to Macias' capture, on X.
Noboa said Ecuador had requested Macias be extradited to the U.S., where he is set to face international drug and gun charges in a federal court in New York.
Macias was sentenced in 2011 to 34 years in prison for various crimes including drug trafficking and murder.
The United States imposed sanctions on Los Choneros last year, saying they have been involved in drug trafficking since the 1990s and accusing the group of being a key driver of escalating violence in the country since 2020, including within overcrowded prisons. REUTERS
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Straits Times
17 minutes ago
- Straits Times
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AsiaOne
43 minutes ago
- AsiaOne
They voted for Trump. Most still back him - but not on everything, World News
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Trump's acceptance of the Qatari jet also struck Amanda Taylor, 51, an insurance firm employee near Savannah, Georgia, as potentially unethical. "It just seems a little like he can do whatever he wants to without repercussion," she said. Taylor, who voted for former President Joe Biden in 2020, says it is too early to tell yet whether Trump is an improvement. She likes Trump's pledges to deport criminals and gang members. But she has been most closely watching economic indicators, especially interest rates, because she and her husband closed on a new house this month. Changes they hope to see Among Trump voters with fewer complaints about the president's second term, there are still areas where they hope to see some change. David Ferguson, 53, hoped the Trump administration would revitalise US manufacturing, and so far he is "pleased with the groundwork" and "at least the direction that they're communicating." [[nid:719154]] At the industrial supply company in western Georgia where he works as a mechanical engineer and account manager, Ferguson has seen Trump's tariffs drive up prices on a range of products, from roller bearings to food-processing equipment. He does not expect the prices to fall as quickly as they've risen. Ferguson would like the administration to offer tax incentives to companies like his that are making it possible for more things to be made in the United States. "It would help encourage businesses that are already domesticating manufacturing and give them some relief from the tariffs, kind of reward their good behaviour," he said. Several other Trump voters voiced support for a policy that might surprise left-leaning voters: a clearer legal immigration pathway for aspiring Americans who are law-abiding and want to contribute to the US economy. 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AsiaOne
an hour ago
- AsiaOne
Armenia arrests archbishop over alleged coup plot, Asia News
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