Ecuador extradites leader of violent drug gang to the United States
QUITO, Ecuador — Ecuador on Sunday extradited to the United States the leader of a violent Ecuadorian gang who relied on hitmen, bribes and military weapons to do business.
José Adolfo Macías Villamar, whose nickname is 'Fito,' escaped from a prison in Ecuador last year and was recaptured late June. In April, a U.S. Attorney indicted him in New York City on charges he imported thousands of pounds of cocaine into the United States.
Macías 'was removed from the La Roca Detention Center under the custody of the National Police and Armed Forces for the appropriate proceedings in the context of an extradition process,' Ecuador's government agency responsible for overseeing prisons, SNAI, said in a message sent to journalists.
Details of the handover were not specified.
A photograph released by SNAI showed Macías wearing a T-shirt, shorts, a bulletproof vest and helmet. Several police officers were guarding him at an undisclosed location.
The extradition decision came after the United States sent a document to Ecuador offering guarantees for the respect of the rights of the 45-year-old criminal leader.
Since 2020, Macías has led 'Los Choneros,' a criminal organization that emerged in the 1990s. The gang employed people to buy firearms and ammunition in the United States and smuggle them into Ecuador, according to April's indictment. Cocaine would flow into the United States with the help of Mexican cartels. Together, the groups controlled key cocaine trafficking routes through Ecuador, violently targeting law enforcement, politicians, lawyers and civilians who stood in the way.
Macías escaped from a Guayaquil prison where he was serving a 34-year sentence for drug trafficking, organized crime, and murder. He was recaptured a year and a half later on the country's central coast.
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.
Macías is the first Ecuadorian to be extradited to the U.S. from Ecuador, prison authorities said. Two other Ecuadorian drug traffickers have previously been handed over to the United States but from Colombia, where they were arrested.
The Associated Press
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
12 hours ago
- CTV News
22-year-old arrested with nearly 3 kilograms of cocaine in drug trafficking bust
A drug bust in west Edmonton led to the arrest of a 22-year-old man on July 16, 2025. (Source: Alberta RCMP Community Response Team) An Edmonton man is facing multiple charges after a one-week drug trafficking investigation found almost three kilograms of cocaine, eight grams of methamphetamine and over 200 oxycodone tablets in his possession. On July 16, the Alberta RCMP Community Response Team searched a residence in west Edmonton, a storage locker in Sherwood Park and a car, also in Edmonton. It was there that they seized the drugs as well as $65,810 and 'numerous' cell phones. In a release Tuesday, RCMP said the 22-year-old was arrested on charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of proceeds of crime over $5,000 and breaching a release order. The man was on a release order from a previous charge that involved possession for the purpose of trafficking in February. He was held for a bail hearing and brought into custody. He's set to appear at the Alberta Court of Justice in Sherwood Park Wednesday.
CBC
15 hours ago
- CBC
Border officers found 161 bricks of cocaine in a truck at the Ambassador Bridge: CBSA
A Richmond Hill truck driver has been charged after border agents found a 161 bricks of suspected cocaine in a commercial truck trying to enter Canada at the Ambassador Bridge, Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) says. The agency says officers at the Windsor-Detroit bridge found 187.5 kilograms, worth about $23.4 million, stuffed into two suitcases and five garbage bags. This happened on May 23, 2025. Officers arrested the 55-year-old driver and transferred him to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He's charged with importing cocaine and possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. "The ongoing efforts of our border services officers to intercept narcotics and weapons is to be commended," said Michael Prosia, regional director general of the CBSA's southern Ontario region, in a media release. The agency issued that media release Tuesday along with a link to a federal plan to strengthen border security and the immigration system.
CTV News
16 hours ago
- CTV News
84-year-old N.B. man charged in drug trafficking investigation
An RCMP collar tab pin is seen in Edmonton, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson An 84-year-old man from Shippagan, N.B., has been charged following a drug trafficking investigation in the area. The New Brunswick RCMP Northeast Crime Reduction Unit (NB CCRU), along with members of the Caraquet, Tracadie and Lamèque Detachments, RCMP Police Dog Services and Forensic Identification Services executed a search warrant at a Shippagan residence and in a vehicle on Friday. During the search, the RCMP says officers seized: quantity of what they believed to be cocaine crystal methamphetamine money an electronic scale drug paraphernalia Some of the drugs found were packaged in multiple small bags. Emilien Goupil, 84, was arrested at the scene. He appeared in a Bathurst provincial court Monday and was charged with: trafficking crystal methamphetamine possession for the purpose of trafficking crystal methamphetamine trafficking cocaine possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine possession of Canadian currency of a value exceeding $5,000 knowing that all or part of the property was obtained by the commission of an offence He was remanded into custody pending a future court appearance. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
