Latest news with #Ecuadorian
Al Etihad
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Etihad
Ecuadorian President receives UAE Accountability Authority President
23 July 2025 13:37 QUITO (WAM) President Daniel Noboa of the Republic of Ecuador received Humaid Obaid Abushibs, President of the UAE Accountability Authority, as part of an official visit by a UAE delegation aimed at strengthening cooperation and exchanging expertise in the fields of oversight, integrity, and visit included a series of high-level bilateral meetings with senior Ecuadorian officials, including Xavier Mauricio Torres, Comptroller General of Ecuador; Andrés Xavier Fantoni Baldeón, President of the Council for Citizen Participation and Social Control; and José Julio Neira, Secretary-General for Public Integrity. The visit aligns with the UAE Accountability Authority's efforts to expand its strategic partnerships regionally and internationally, with the goal of advancing oversight mechanisms and promoting transparency and integrity in accordance with global best practices and standards.
NBC News
2 days ago
- NBC News
Ecuador extradites drug kingpin to United States
José Adolfo Macías Villamar, nicknamed "Fito," and considered the leader of a violent Ecuadorian gang accused of smuggling drugs and firearms in the U.S., appeared in a federal court in Brooklyn. NBC News' George Solis has the details on the case after Villamar pleaded not guilty to federal charges related to international drug and weapons trafficking
2 days ago
Ecuadorian drug lord 'Fito' pleads not guilty after being extradited to New York
The head of a violent Ecuadorian gang accused of smuggling cocaine and firearms between South America and the U.S. pleaded not guilty to drug and gun charges Monday in New York. José Adolfo Macías Villamar, whose nickname is 'Fito,' appeared in federal court in Brooklyn a day after Ecuador extradited him to the U.S. A judge ordered him detained until trial and set his next court date for Sept. 19. U.S. prosecutors accuse Macías of leading the vicious Los Choneros gang that used hitmen, bribes and military weapons, including machine guns and grenades. The hitmen, or sicarios, murdered, tortured and kidnapped people in Ecuador as the gang committed violence against law enforcement, politicians, attorneys, prosecutors and civilians, authorities said. Los Choneros also worked with Mexican drug cartels to ship cocaine from Colombian suppliers through Ecuador and Central America to the U.S., and shipped firearms from the U.S. to South America, prosecutors said. 'Macías Villamar poses an extraordinary danger to the community,' U.S. prosecutors wrote in a request that Macías be detained without bail until trial. 'The Court should enter a permanent order of detention, as no condition or combination of conditions can assure the safety of the community or assure Macías Villamar's appearance at trial.' Macías' lawyer, Alexei Schacht, who entered the not guilty pleas on Macías' behalf, did not immediately return phone and email messages Monday. Macías escaped from a prison in Ecuador in January 2024 and wasn't caught until last month, when he was found in an underground bunker at a relative's mansion in the port city of Manta. He was serving a 34-year sentence for drug trafficking, organized crime and murder when he escaped. He also fled from a maximum-security prison in February 2013 but was recaptured a few weeks later. Los Choneros emerged in the 1990s and Macías has been its leader since 2020, authorities said. Macías 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. A federal grand jury in New York City indicted him on seven charges in April and returned an updated indictment in late June. The charges include international cocaine distribution conspiracy, use of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking and straw purchasing of firearms conspiracy. If convicted, he could face 20 years to life in prison. "The defendant and his co-conspirators flooded the United States and other countries with drugs and used extreme measures of violence in their quest for power and control,' Joseph Nocella Jr., U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement.
Toronto Star
2 days ago
- Toronto Star
Ecuadorian drug lord ‘Fito' pleads not guilty after being extradited to New York
The head of a violent Ecuadorian gang accused of smuggling cocaine and firearms between South America and the U.S. pleaded not guilty to drug and gun charges Monday in New York. José Adolfo Macías Villamar, whose nickname is 'Fito,' appeared in federal court in Brooklyn a day after Ecuador extradited him to the U.S. A judge ordered him detained until trial and set his next court date for Sept. 19.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Ecuadorian drug lord ‘Fito' pleads not guilty after being extradited to New York
The head of a violent Ecuadorian gang accused of smuggling cocaine and firearms between South America and the U.S. pleaded not guilty to drug and gun charges Monday in New York. José Adolfo Macías Villamar, whose nickname is 'Fito,' appeared in federal court in Brooklyn a day after Ecuador extradited him to the U.S. A judge ordered him detained until trial and set his next court date for Sept. 19. U.S. prosecutors accuse Macías of leading the vicious Los Choneros gang that used hitmen, bribes and military weapons, including machine guns and grenades. The hitmen, or sicarios, murdered, tortured and kidnapped people in Ecuador as the gang committed violence against law enforcement, politicians, attorneys, prosecutors and civilians, authorities said. Los Choneros also worked with Mexican drug cartels to ship cocaine from Colombian suppliers through Ecuador and Central America to the U.S., and shipped firearms from the U.S. to South America, prosecutors said. 'Macías Villamar poses an extraordinary danger to the community,' U.S. prosecutors wrote in a request that Macías be detained without bail until trial. 'The Court should enter a permanent order of detention, as no condition or combination of conditions can assure the safety of the community or assure Macías Villamar's appearance at trial.' Macías' lawyer, Alexei Schacht, who entered the not guilty pleas on Macías' behalf, did not immediately return phone and email messages Monday. Macías escaped from a prison in Ecuador in January 2024 and wasn't caught until last month, when he was found in an underground bunker at a relative's mansion in the port city of Manta. He was serving a 34-year sentence for drug trafficking, organized crime and murder when he escaped. He also fled from a maximum-security prison in February 2013 but was recaptured a few weeks later. Los Choneros emerged in the 1990s and Macías has been its leader since 2020, authorities said. Macías 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. A federal grand jury in New York City indicted him on seven charges in April and returned an updated indictment in late June. The charges include international cocaine distribution conspiracy, use of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking and straw purchasing of firearms conspiracy. If convicted, he could face 20 years to life in prison. 'The defendant and his co-conspirators flooded the United States and other countries with drugs and used extreme measures of violence in their quest for power and control,' Joseph Nocella Jr., U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement.
