Ecuador‘s most wanted fugitive, a gang leader and drug-lord known as Fito, was captured after hiding out in a bunker underneath a house.
Fito, whose real name is Adolfo Macías Villamar, is the leader of Los Choneros, a criminal gang known for its cocaine trafficking throughout South America. Fito escaped from prison in January 2024 with the help of two guards, causing riots in the country.
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The 10-hour mission surrounded a luxury home in Manta, Ecuador, involving police and the Ecuadorian military. The joint team stormed the bunker, which was accessible by a trap door leading underneath the home. The bunker had air conditioning, a bed, and a fridge.
According to police, Fito did not resist being transferred to the same five-prison complex in Guayaquil, Ecuador, that he escaped from in 2024. He was taken to the maximum-security prison, La Roca, within the complex.
Fito’s escape enacted a wave of prison riots, which led Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa to declare a national state of emergency for 60 days. He is also suspected of ordering the assassination of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio in 2023, just days before the election.
Noboa said in a post on X that Fito would be extradited to the United States for charges, and mentioned the recently implemented solidarity and intelligence laws, which many activists oppose due to human rights concerns. He said the capture was “thanks to those laws.”
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The intelligence law expands the authority of Ecuadorian intelligence to include the collection of personal data as well as carrying out raids without court orders. The solidarity law creates a legal framework for Ecuadorian intelligence.
Los Choneros, which partners with Mexican cartels to further its outreach, was labeled by the U.S. in 2024 as one of the most violent gangs in the world and is labeled by Ecuador as a terrorist organization. The gang has also started using tactics such as the decapitation or mutilation of enemies. The reward for Fito as of this month was a million dollars.