Jose Adolfo Macias, alias “Fito”, should be extradited to the United States on drug trafficking and the charges of smuggling weapons.
According to President Daniel Noboa.
Jose Adolfo Macias, also known as “Fito”, escaped from Guayaquil prison in January 2024, where he was serving a 34 -year sentence for drug trafficking and murder.
After his capture, Macias will now be extradited to the United States, where he was charged by a federal court for accusations related to drug trafficking and the smuggling of firearms, Noboa said on the social media platform X on Wednesday.
Noboa had previously offered $ 1 million to get help in capturing Macias and sent thousands of police and members of the armed forces to find it.
“My gratitude to our police officers and soldiers who participated in this operation. More will fall, we will recover the country. No truce,” said Noboa on X.
Para los that the opusieron y Dudaron de la Necedad de Las Leyes de Solidaridad e Inteliccia: Gracias A Esas Leyes, Fito Fue Capturado Hoy y is in Manos del de Seguridad.
Mi CONDOMIENTO A NUESTROS POUSCORIAS Y Militares that participated in esta operación. Caerán Más,…
– Daniel Noboa Azin (@danieloboaok) June 25, 2025
Macias would have escaped before his transfer to a maximum security prison, but the authorities have not yet explained how he succeeded.
Successful escape “triggered generalized riots, bombings, kidnappings, the assassination of an eminent prosecutor and an armed attack on a television network during a live program”, according to the United States government, bringing Noboa to declare a state of emergency of 60 days through the equator.
The Ecuadorian president also appointed 22 gangs, including Los Choneros, as “terrorist groups”.
The US Treasury Department sanctioned Macias and Los Choneros separately in February 2024 for drug trafficking and encouraged violence across the equator.
Ecuador was once one of the most peaceful countries in Latin America, but its proximity to Peru and Colombia – the world’s main producers of cocaine – has made it a primordial target for criminal groups exporting drugs abroad.
Competition between rival local gangs, supported by Mexico foreign criminal unions in Albania, has led to an explosion of violence across the country.
