Ecuador's most wanted gang leader captured
Ecuador's president announced that the country's most-wanted fugitive, Los Choneros gang leader "Fito", had been recaptured over a year after his escape from prison triggered a wave of violence.
"We have done our part to proceed with Fito's extradition to the United States, we are awaiting their response," President Daniel Noboa wrote on social media platform X.
Drug lord Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar, also known as Fito, escaped custody in Ecuador in January 2024 and American prosecutors charged him, in absentia, with seven counts of cocaine distribution, conspiracy and firearms-related crimes, including weapons smuggling.
Macias Villamar's escape resulted in a surge of gang-related violence in Ecuador that lasted days and left about 20 people dead.
Mr Noboa declared a 60-day state of emergency in nearly a third of its provinces to quell the violence, but the drug lord was at-large until yesterday's announcement.
The months-long manhunt ended with the president stating that Fito was in the custody of special military forces fighting narcotics trafficking.
The army and police reported that he was captured during an operation in the city of Manta, a fishing port in the western part of the country considered a stronghold for his gang.
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