Who be Fito, Ecuador most wanted drug lord wey dem capture for wia e hide
Police for Ecuador don recapture di kontri most wanted fugitive, drug lord Adolfo Macías Villamar.
Macías, wey im alias na "Fito", na di leader of Los Choneros, one powerful criminal gang wey chop blame for Ecuador transformation from tourist haven to kontri wey get one of di highest murder rates for di region.
Dem also suspect say na im order di assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio for 2023.
Police track am down to wetin dem describe as underground bunker under one luxury home for di city of Manta.
One police tok-tok pesin tok no shots dey fired for di 10-hour joint operation by police and di military.
Plenty officers bin first monitor and surround di three-storey house wey dey di Monterrey neighbourhood of Manta, on di Ecuadorian coast.
Wen dem storm di building, dem see one sliding trap door, wey dey disguise to resemble part of di stone floor, from which metal stairs lead go Fito underground hideout.
Di "bunker" get air air condition, one bed, one fan and one fridge.
Di house get gym, punching bag and one games room, wia e fit dey play pool and table football.
Fito reportedly no follow dem drag, dem transfer am by air go di port city of Guayaquil, wia several of Ecuador largest prisons dey located.
Footage of im arrival for Guayaquil show am for inside shorts, T-shirt and flip flops wey e wear, as armed security officers lead am to one parked SUV bifor dem transfer am go La Roca maximum-security prison.
Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa hail di security forces for capturing Fito and e say dem go extradite am go back US, wia e dey charged wit cocaine smuggling.
Fito escape from La Regional prison for Guayaquil for January 2024 wit di help of at least two guards, wey grab global media attention.
E trigger one wave of deadly prison riots, dem take guards hostage and e make President Noboa declare a state of emergency.
But Fito don already dey notorious prior to im escape. During im time for prison – as e dey serve 34-year sentence for murder and drug trafficking – e rise to di top of di Los Choneros gang afta dem kill im previous leader.
From behind bars, e coordinate di gang activities, wey include drug trafficking and extortion.
Dem also suspect say na im order di murder of politician Fernando Villavicencio, wey dey gun down for one campaign rally just days bifor di 2023 election.
Under Fito leadership, Los Choneros form links wit Mexico powerful Sinaloa cartel, one alliance wey experts say lead to horrible tactics wey Mexican cartels dey use well-well - like decapitations and mutilations – and e spread am to Ecuador.
For di indictment wey di US goment sama against Fito, e allege say Fito na ruthless leader and prolific drug trafficker for one violent transnational criminal organization.
Dem allege say e lead di Los Choneros' network of assassins and drug and weapon traffickers and e import potentially lethal quantities of cocaine enta di United States, di defendant don cause great harm to im own kontri and di United States, wey be di destination for di vast majority of Los Choneros' cocaine shipments," United States Attorney Durham.
As alleged for di indictment, from at least 2020 to 2025, Macías Villamar na di principal leader of Los Choneros, one of di most violent and powerful transnational criminal organizations for Ecuador.
As di principal leader of Los Choneros, Macías Villamar employ members of di organization to carry out serious acts of violence on di organization behalf. At Macías Villamar's direction, Los Choneros don commit violent acts towards law enforcement, Ecuadorian politicians, attorneys, prosecutors and civilians.
Shortly bifor e escape from prison, e appear for narcocorrido - one slick music video wia im daughter glorify her father criminal exploits.
Di video, wey dem record some part inside di prison, show am as e dey caress one fighting cockerel and dey follow im fellow inmates chat.
Di gang leader escape for 2024 bin serve as blow to Noboa government. Di Ecuadorian leader bin enta office for November 2023, afta dem elect am on top promise to combat di growing power of di gangs.
Last year, America classify Los Choneros as one of di most violent gangs and affirm im connection to powerful Mexican drug cartels wey dey threaten Ecuador and di surrounding region.
Authorities for Ecuador don classify di gang as a terrorist organization. Earlier dis month, di Ecuadorian government bin announce say dem go increase di reward for di capture of Macías to $1 million.
On Wednesday, Noboa tok say di capture of di drug lord na proof im approach – wey include bringing in laws wey go give am power to declare "armed internal conflict", and allow police to conduct searches without a warrant.
"More [drug lords] go fall, we go regain [control of] di kontri," e post on X.
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Ecuador reveals how notorious gang leader 'Fito' hid in his hometown for 18 months after jailbreak
Ever since Ecuador's most notorious gang leader vanished from his prison cell in January 2024, authorities have been searching the world, offering a $1 million reward for information leading to the capture of Adolfo Macías, alias 'Fito." It turned out the country's most wanted man was hiding out at a family member's mansion in his own hometown. Ecuadorian security forces recaptured the kingpin Wednesday at an underground bunker beneath a marble-walled house in the port city of Manta, some 260 kilometers (161 miles) southwest of the capital of Quito. In a remarks to reporters Thursday, authorities revealed further details about their efforts to locate Macías and the hiding place where he spent his final weeks of as a fugitive. Authorities had issued an international arrest warrant for who had been serving a 34-year prison sentence for drug trafficking, organized crime and murder in a Guayaquil prison before his shock escape. Macías is also wanted by the United States on accusations of trafficking drugs and smuggling weapons. A month ago, authorities closed in on the drug trafficker's family, arresting several of his relatives, seizing their assets and raiding their businesses. Interior Minister John Reimberg described the crackdown on Macías' family as a 'psychological operation' crucial to security forces' efforts to locate the notorious leader of Ecuador's 'Los Choneros" gang. 'It contributes to a person's conflict, their loss of control,' he said in a press conference Thursday. But what put Ecuadorian intelligence on his trail was the unusual behavior of a municipal transit official in Manta, who stopped showing up to work several months ago. Surveilling the official led intelligence services to Macías' inner circle, according to Víctor Ordóñez, a national police commander. Authorities discovered that this official frequented a swanky three-story building equipped with an indoor pool, well-appointed gym and game room and outfitted with gleaming marble floors and walls. Furniture was wrapped in plastic and flat screen TVs were still in their boxes. All over the house were statues of Saint Jude Thaddeus, the patron saint of hopeless causes venerated by Mexican drug traffickers. Los Choneros is believed to have been one of the first from Ecuador to forge ties with Mexican drug cartels. Ordóñez also said that authorities received final confirmation that Macías would be in the house at the time of the 10-hourlong raid from his young daughter. In the predawn darkness Wednesday, hundreds of heavily armed soldiers and security officers stormed the mansion and blocked off the surrounding streets. But Macías was nowhere to be found. Security forces flew drones overhead and noticed that the land around the house appeared uneven, with suspiciously altered vegetation that suggested infrastructure and possible ventilation below the surface. The fugitive was hunkered down in an air-conditioned bunker that could only be accessed through a small hatch, its entrance concealed by a cement and tile floor in the laundry room and openable only from the inside. Police brought in heavy machinery to start excavating, and when the roof above his head began to cave in Macías recognized that capture was inevitable, Minister Reimberg said. The alternative was being crushed to death. 'When this happened, Fito panicked,' he said. 'He opened the hatch where military and police personnel were located and left the hole.' Within moments, Ecuador's most powerful drug lord was writhing on the ground with a gun pointed at his head, forced to repeat his full name out loud. Shirtless and with an unkempt beard, a haggard 'Fito' was shepherded outside by a squad of officers and brought to the country's highest-security prison, known as La Roca, or the Rock, in Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city. Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa announced after the capture that the Macías would be extradited to the U.S. to face prosecution. He was indicted in New York City in April on charges of importing and distributing thousands of pounds of cocaine in the U.S. 'We have done our part,' Reimberg said. 'I expect the U.S. extradition request to arrive in the next few hours or at most the next few days."
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Fugitive gang leader found a YEAR after prison break as his dramatic secret lair is revealed
The leader of one of the most powerful gangs in Ecuador has finally been recaptured more than a year after he escaped from a jail. The military raided a mansion located in the Ecuadorian port city of Manta on Wednesday and found Jose Adolfo 'Fito' Macías hiding in a bunker that was said to have been built beneath the kitchen. A video released by the Ecuadorian Army showed a shirtless Macías pinned down to the ground while armed soldiers repeatedly asked him to identify himself. The lavish, three-floor residence belonged to the 45-year-old 'Los Choneros' gang leader's girlfriend. It featured marbled floors in most of the rooms with LED lighting on the walls along a flight of stairs. The ground level featured a living room with billiards table. One of the floors was equipped with a swimming pool, while another area was set up as a gym. The National Police and the military spent more than 10 hours gathering intelligence on the mansion, which stood out among the humble neighborhood of La Tejedora. 'The operation was carried out with precision and without casualties, once again demonstrating the commitment and operational capacity of the Armed Forces and the entire Security Bloc to ensure the well-being of Ecuadorian families,' the Ecuadorian Army said in a statement. Macías escaped from the Guayaquil Regional Prison in January 2024, where he was serving a 34-year sentence for drug trafficking. Ecuador President Daniel Noboa vowed to hand over Macías to the US government. 'More will fall, we will recover the country,' he said in a post on X. 'We have done our part to proceed with Fito's extradition to the United States; we await your response.' A New York federal court indicted the notorious gang leader and another co-defendant on seven counts, including cocaine distribution and firearm smuggling from the US. Prosecutors have accused Macías' criminal organization of being linked to Mexican cartels and running an enterprise that shipped and distributed tons of cocaine from South America via Central American and Mexico before reaching the United States and beyond. Ecuadorian authorities were offering a $1 million reward for Macías' arrest. Macías was just 20 years old when he was first arrested in on a robbery charge and was then apprehended on drug trafficking and criminal organization charges in 2011 and sentenced to almost three and a half decades. He became a lawyer while in jail while maintaining the command of a criminal organization that graduated from pulling robberies in the middle of the sea to being linked to Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel and Colombia's Gulf Clan. Macías assumed leadership of Los Choneros alongside Roldán Paredes in 2018 following the extradition of Edison Prado, also known at the 'Pablo Escobar of Ecuador,' to the United States. In an October 2021 jailhouse interview with Ecuadorian digital news outlet La Posta, Macías revealed how Los Choneros controlled five of 12 pavilions at the Guayaquil Regional Prison. Los Choneros and other rival and affiliated gangs operated at will by bribing prison guards and police officers with $80 to $100 a day. He told the outlet that by having the guards and cops on their side, the gangs could smuggle cellphones, drugs, grenades, guns and rifles that permitted each pavilion to operate at free will and in turn generate up $200,000 a month or $280 million a year that would be split between both law enforcement and the criminal network leaders. According to the report, inmates on average paid guards $300 to smuggle phones and $30 a week for access to internet service. The gangs also ran a loan-shark program in each pavilion, lending out anywhere between $5,000 to $50,000 and drawing 30 percent to 100 percent in fees, with guards and the police receiving 10 percent in kickback payments. They also operated food stands, which basically replaced the jail's commissary. The gangs also made extra money by renting out cells and mattresses to prisoners.
BBC News
11 hours ago
- BBC News
Who be Fito, Ecuador most wanted drug lord wey dem capture for wia e hide
Police for Ecuador don recapture di kontri most wanted fugitive, drug lord Adolfo Macías Villamar. Macías, wey im alias na "Fito", na di leader of Los Choneros, one powerful criminal gang wey chop blame for Ecuador transformation from tourist haven to kontri wey get one of di highest murder rates for di region. Dem also suspect say na im order di assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio for 2023. Police track am down to wetin dem describe as underground bunker under one luxury home for di city of Manta. One police tok-tok pesin tok no shots dey fired for di 10-hour joint operation by police and di military. Plenty officers bin first monitor and surround di three-storey house wey dey di Monterrey neighbourhood of Manta, on di Ecuadorian coast. Wen dem storm di building, dem see one sliding trap door, wey dey disguise to resemble part of di stone floor, from which metal stairs lead go Fito underground hideout. Di "bunker" get air air condition, one bed, one fan and one fridge. Di house get gym, punching bag and one games room, wia e fit dey play pool and table football. Fito reportedly no follow dem drag, dem transfer am by air go di port city of Guayaquil, wia several of Ecuador largest prisons dey located. Footage of im arrival for Guayaquil show am for inside shorts, T-shirt and flip flops wey e wear, as armed security officers lead am to one parked SUV bifor dem transfer am go La Roca maximum-security prison. Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa hail di security forces for capturing Fito and e say dem go extradite am go back US, wia e dey charged wit cocaine smuggling. Fito escape from La Regional prison for Guayaquil for January 2024 wit di help of at least two guards, wey grab global media attention. E trigger one wave of deadly prison riots, dem take guards hostage and e make President Noboa declare a state of emergency. But Fito don already dey notorious prior to im escape. During im time for prison – as e dey serve 34-year sentence for murder and drug trafficking – e rise to di top of di Los Choneros gang afta dem kill im previous leader. From behind bars, e coordinate di gang activities, wey include drug trafficking and extortion. Dem also suspect say na im order di murder of politician Fernando Villavicencio, wey dey gun down for one campaign rally just days bifor di 2023 election. Under Fito leadership, Los Choneros form links wit Mexico powerful Sinaloa cartel, one alliance wey experts say lead to horrible tactics wey Mexican cartels dey use well-well - like decapitations and mutilations – and e spread am to Ecuador. For di indictment wey di US goment sama against Fito, e allege say Fito na ruthless leader and prolific drug trafficker for one violent transnational criminal organization. Dem allege say e lead di Los Choneros' network of assassins and drug and weapon traffickers and e import potentially lethal quantities of cocaine enta di United States, di defendant don cause great harm to im own kontri and di United States, wey be di destination for di vast majority of Los Choneros' cocaine shipments," United States Attorney Durham. As alleged for di indictment, from at least 2020 to 2025, Macías Villamar na di principal leader of Los Choneros, one of di most violent and powerful transnational criminal organizations for Ecuador. As di principal leader of Los Choneros, Macías Villamar employ members of di organization to carry out serious acts of violence on di organization behalf. At Macías Villamar's direction, Los Choneros don commit violent acts towards law enforcement, Ecuadorian politicians, attorneys, prosecutors and civilians. Shortly bifor e escape from prison, e appear for narcocorrido - one slick music video wia im daughter glorify her father criminal exploits. Di video, wey dem record some part inside di prison, show am as e dey caress one fighting cockerel and dey follow im fellow inmates chat. Di gang leader escape for 2024 bin serve as blow to Noboa government. Di Ecuadorian leader bin enta office for November 2023, afta dem elect am on top promise to combat di growing power of di gangs. Last year, America classify Los Choneros as one of di most violent gangs and affirm im connection to powerful Mexican drug cartels wey dey threaten Ecuador and di surrounding region. Authorities for Ecuador don classify di gang as a terrorist organization. Earlier dis month, di Ecuadorian government bin announce say dem go increase di reward for di capture of Macías to $1 million. On Wednesday, Noboa tok say di capture of di drug lord na proof im approach – wey include bringing in laws wey go give am power to declare "armed internal conflict", and allow police to conduct searches without a warrant. "More [drug lords] go fall, we go regain [control of] di kontri," e post on X.
