VIDEO- "Fito", the most wanted man in Ecuador, is arrested, 3-year-old girl discovers his lair

2025-06-27 13:38:00, Kronika CNA

VIDEO- "Fito", the most wanted man in Ecuador, is arrested, 3-year-old

A fugitive drug trafficker, wanted by authorities in Ecuador and the United States, has been recaptured more than a year after escaping from prison in the Andean nation.

José Adolfo Macías, known as “Fito,” who led a gang called “Los Choneros” in Ecuador and is indicted in New York City on charges of importing cocaine into the United States, was captured in the Ecuadorian city of Manta, his hometown, officials in Ecuador said.

Interpol had issued an arrest warrant for Macias after his mysterious prison escape in early 2024 from the Guayaquil Regional Prison, where he was serving a 34-year sentence for drug trafficking. Ecuadorian authorities have yet to explain how he escaped. They only learned of his escape when a military contingent arrived to transfer him to another maximum-security prison, but they did not find him in his cell.

The Ecuadorian military confirmed the capture of Macias in what appeared to be the basement of a house. A video provided by the military showed the moment of the arrest, with an officer pointing a gun at the head of the drug trafficker, who gave his full name. The officers had found him hiding under a kitchen counter.

According to the newspaper 'El Mercurio', his 3-year-old daughter accidentally discovered his location.

Wednesday's announcement of his arrest comes the same week that Federico Gómez, also known as "Fede," the leader of another gang called Las Aguilas, was confirmed to have escaped from a prison in Ecuador.

Last year, U.S. Attorney John Durham said in a press release that Macias led Los Choneros and its "network of killers and drug and arms traffickers" since at least 2020.

With an extensive criminal record that includes charges of murder and organized crime, Macías has cultivated a cult status among fellow gang members and the public in his native country.

While behind bars in 2023, he released a video addressed to the “Ecuadorian people” accompanied by armed men. He also hosted prison parties, where he had access to everything from alcohol to roosters for cockfighting matches. The seven-count indictment unsealed in Brooklyn charges Macías and an unidentified co-defendant with international distribution of cocaine, conspiracy and illegal possession of weapons charges, including smuggling firearms from the United States.

According to the indictment, Los Choneros hired people to buy firearms, spare parts and ammunition in the United States and smuggle them into Ecuador. The cocaine entered the United States with the help of Mexican cartels.

"Los Choneros operated as a network for the shipment and distribution of multi-ton quantities of cocaine from South America through Central America and Mexico to the United States and elsewhere," the indictment states.

Last year, the US classified Los Choneros as one of the most violent gangs and asserted their connection to powerful Mexican drug cartels that threaten Ecuador and the surrounding region.

Authorities in Ecuador have classified the gang as a terrorist organization./ CNA