Latest news with #DanielNoboa
The Guardian
a day ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Ecuador extradites notorious drug kingpin ‘Fito' to US
The Ecuadoran government has extradited the notorious drug trafficker Adolfo Macías to the US, more than a year after he escaped from a high-security prison. The flight transporting Macías, also known as 'Fito', landed in New York state on Sunday night, according to a tracking site. The US Attorney's Office filed charges in April against Macías, the head of Los Choneros gang, on suspicion of cocaine distribution, conspiracy and firearms violations, including weapons smuggling. A letter filed by the US Department of Justice on Sunday said Macías was due to appear in Brooklyn's federal court on Monday 'for an arraignment on the superseding indictment in this case'. His lawyer, Alexei Schacht, told news agencies he would plead not guilty. Macías was removed from custody at a maximum-security prison in south-west Ecuador on Sunday 'for the purposes that correspond to the extradition process', a spokesperson for the national prison authority, SNAI, told reporters. Macías, a former taxi driver, agreed in a Quito court last week to be extradited to the US to face the charges. He is the first Ecuadoran extradited by his country since a new measure was written into law last year, after a referendum in which President Daniel Noboa sought approval for moves to boost his crackdown on criminal gangs. Ecuador, once a peaceful haven between the world's two top cocaine exporters, Colombia and Peru, has experienced a rise in violence in recent years as gangs with ties to Mexican and Colombian cartels vie for control. Soon after Macías escaped from prison in January 2024, Noboa declared Ecuador to be in a state of internal armed conflict and ordered the military and tanks into the streets to 'neutralise' the gangs. The move has been criticised by human rights organisations. Macías's Los Choneros has ties to Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, Colombia's Gulf Clan – the world's largest cocaine exporter – and Balkan mafias, according to the Ecuadorian Organized Crime Observatory. The crime boss's escape from prison prompted widespread violence and a large military and police recapture operation, including government posters offering $1m for information leading to his arrest. On 25 June, Macías was found hiding in a bunker concealed under floor tiles in a luxury home in the fishing port of Manta, the centre of Los Choneros operations. In an interview with CNN at the time, Noboa said Macías would be extradited, 'the sooner, the better … We will gladly send him and let him answer to the North American law.' More than 70% of cocaine produced in the world passes through Ecuador's ports, according to government data. In 2024, the country seized a record 294 tonnes of drugs, mostly cocaine.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ecuador's biggest drug lord ‘Fito' extradited to US, to plead ‘not guilty'
Ecuadorean gang leader Adolfo Macias Villamar, also known as 'Fito', is set to appear in a federal court in the United States, where he will plead not guilty to international charges of drug and weapons trafficking, his lawyer says. The Ecuadorean government on Sunday extradited the notorious drug trafficker, a month after he was recaptured following a 2024 escape from a maximum-security penitentiary, the country's prison authority said. Macias, the leader of the Los Choneros gang, was serving a 34-year sentence at a prison in Guayaquil for a slew of crimes, including drug trafficking, organised crime, and murder. The flight transporting Macias landed in New York state on Sunday night, the report said. His lawyer told the Reuters news agency that Macias 'will plead not guilty' before the Brooklyn federal court on Monday. Details of the handover to the US government and the extradition were not specified. The US government has yet to issue an official statement following the US Attorney's Office had filed charges in April against Macias on suspicion of cocaine distribution, conspiracy and firearms violations, including weapons smuggling. The former taxi driver turned crime boss agreed in a Quito court last week to be extradited to the US to face the charges. He is the first Ecuadorean extradited by his country since a new measure was written into law last year, after a referendum in which President Daniel Noboa sought the approval of moves to boost his war on criminal gangs. Ecuador, once a peaceful haven between the world's two top cocaine exporters, Colombia and Peru, has seen violence erupt in recent years as rival gangs with ties to Mexican and Colombian cartels vie for control. Cult following Soon after Macias escaped from prison in January 2024, Noboa declared Ecuador to be in a state of 'internal armed conflict' and ordered the military and tanks into the streets to 'neutralise' the gangs. The move has been criticised by human rights organisations. As a drug lord, Macias cultivated a cult status among fellow gang members and the public. 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. Macias's Los Choneros has ties to Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, Colombia's Gulf Clan, which is considered the world's largest cocaine exporter, as well as Balkan mafias, according to the Ecuadorian Organised Crime Observatory. His escape from prison prompted widespread violence and a massive military and police recapture operation, including government 'wanted' posters offering $1m for information leading to his arrest. On June 25, Macias was found hiding in a bunker concealed under floor tiles in a luxury home in the fishing port of Manta, the centre of operations for Los Choneros. Noboa declared he would be extradited, 'the sooner the better'. 'We will gladly send him and let him answer to the North American law,' Noboa told CNN at the time. More than 70 percent of all cocaine produced in the world now passes through Ecuador's ports, according to government data. In 2024, the country seized a record 294 tonnes of drugs, mainly cocaine. Solve the daily Crossword
Sky News
a day ago
- Sky News
Notorious Ecuador gang boss Fito extradited to the US
Notorious Ecuadorian gang leader Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar - known as Fito - will face court in the US after being extradited, his lawyer has said. The South American country's most-wanted fugitive vanished from prison in January 2024, with authorities desperately searching for him until he was finally recaptured last month. "Fito" has an extensive criminal record including charges of murder and organised crime, and he was sentenced to 34 years behind bars in 2011. While neither the US nor Ecuador have confirmed his extradition, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa previously said the move had been requested - and vowed that more notorious gang members "will fall". 0:36 The prisoner who lived like a king Even after being thrown behind bars, "Fito" continued to serve as the leader of the Los Choneros gang up until his escape. He also enjoyed access to mobile phones and the internet, watched TV and kept pets. "His prison cell basically resembled a hotel room," Annette Idler, a professor of global security at the University of Oxford, previously told Sky News. "He had access to women who were brought to him," she adds. "It was a luxury room for him." Colourful murals of the gang leader were even daubed across the prison walls, including one of him flanked by two assault rifles. But then in January last year, he mysteriously vanished, leading to a nationwide manhunt. Officials are yet to explain how he escaped. 'Fito' recaptured After more than a year in hiding, "Fito" was found in his hometown of Manta last month. Footage from the Ecuadorian army showed a uniformed officer aiming a gun at the drug trafficker's head after finding him hiding in a small hole beneath a kitchen counter. The announcement of his arrest came in the same week that another gang leader was confirmed to have escaped from an Ecuadorian prison. Extradition to the US "Fito" will now face court in the US following his reported extradition from Ecuador. Flight data shows that a US government plane departed from Guayaquil after 2 pm local time on Sunday. "Mr Macias and I will appear tomorrow before the Brooklyn federal court... where he will plead not guilty," his lawyer, Alexei Schacht, said. "After, he will be held in a to-be-determined prison." The US Department of Justice has stated that under Macias' direction, Los Choneros committed violent acts against law enforcement, politicians, lawyers, prosecutors and civilians. Ecuador's government says the gang exercises vast control over the nation's prisons, which are plagued by corruption and overcrowding.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Notorious Ecuadorian gang leader extradited to U.S.
July 21 (UPI) -- Notorious Ecuadorian gang leader Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar has been extradited to the United States, where he is expected to make his first court appearance on Monday. President Daniel Noboa of Ecuador confirmed late Sunday that Macias, leader of the Los Choneros gang and who is also known as Fito, has arrived in the United States. "Goodbye forever, Fito," Noboa said in a statement to social media. "Fito is now in the USA." The U.S. government has yet to confirm Macias' extradition. Hasta nunca, Fito. Fito ya está en EEUU. Esto es gracias a ustedes, ecuatorianos, que dijeron sí a la consulta popular. Espero con gusto las teorías creativas que dirán que no. Interceptamos también 14 toneladas de droga, eso es 560 millones de dólares menos para el... Daniel Noboa Azin (@DanielNoboaOk) July 21, 2025 Macias was recaptured in late June amid a controversial crackdown on gang violence in the country, conducted by Noboa using recently acquired powers granted to him by the National Assembly to combat internal armed conflict. Macias was serving a 34-year sentence for a slew of crimes, including murder, when he escaped from Guayaquil's regional prison in January, as gang violence was erupting in prisons across the nation. In response to the violence, Noboa declared the country was in the midst of an "internal armed conflict" and launched a nationwide law enforcement effort targeting drug cartels and gangs after declaring them terrorists. Macias was then sanctioned by the U.S. State Department in February and charged in a seven-count indictment with drug trafficking-related offenses in Brooklyn, N.Y., in April. If convicted in the United States, he faces up to life in prison. Noboa described Macias' extradition as validation of his crackdown that has received international criticism from human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, over concerns that the new powers pose to the rights of Ecuadorians. "This is thanks to you, Ecuadorians, who said yes to the referendum. I eagerly await the creative theories that will claim otherwise," he said.
The Guardian
a day ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Ecuador extradites notorious drug kingpin ‘Fito' to US
The Ecuadoran government has extradited the notorious drug trafficker Adolfo Macías to the US, more than a year after he escaped from a high-security prison. The flight transporting Macías, also known as 'Fito', landed in New York state on Sunday night, according to a tracking site. The US Attorney's Office filed charges in April against Macías, the head of the Los Choneros gang, on suspicion of cocaine distribution, conspiracy and firearms violations, including weapons smuggling. A letter filed by the US Department of Justice on Sunday said Macías was due to appear in Brooklyn's federal court on Monday 'for an arraignment on the superseding indictment in this case'. His lawyer, Alexei Schacht, told news agencies he would plead not guilty. Macías was removed from custody at a maximum-security prison in south-west Ecuador on Sunday 'for the purposes that correspond to the extradition process', a spokesperson for the national prison authority, SNAI, told reporters. Macías, a former taxi driver, agreed in a Quito court last week to be extradited to the US to face the charges. He is the first Ecuadoran extradited by his country since a new measure was written into law last year, after a referendum in which President Daniel Noboa sought the approval of moves to boost his crackdown on criminal gangs. Ecuador, once a peaceful haven between the world's two top cocaine exporters, Colombia and Peru, has experienced a rise in violence in recent years as gangs with ties to Mexican and Colombian cartels vie for control. Soon after Macías escaped from prison in January 2024, Noboa declared Ecuador to be in a state of internal armed conflict and ordered the military and tanks into the streets to 'neutralise' the gangs. The move has been criticised by human rights organisations. Macías's Los Choneros has ties to Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, Colombia's Gulf Clan – the world's largest cocaine exporter – and Balkan mafias, according to the Ecuadorian Organized Crime Observatory. The crime boss's escape from prison prompted widespread violence and a large military and police recapture operation, including government posters offering $1m for information leading to his arrest. On 25 June, Macías was found hiding in a bunker concealed under floor tiles in a luxury home in the fishing port of Manta, the centre of Los Choneros operations. In an interview with CNN at the time, Noboa said Macías would be extradited, 'the sooner, the better … We will gladly send him and let him answer to the North American law.' More than 70% of cocaine produced in the world passes through Ecuador's ports, according to government data. In 2024, the country seized a record 294 tonnes of drugs, mainly cocaine.
