Leaders of the notorious Ecuadorian drug gang that disappeared from prison cells were prosecuted

Violent fugitive leader Ecuadorian Gangs Authorities said Wednesday that cases involving business on killers, bribery and military weapons have been indicted in New York City, accusing thousands of pounds of cocaine imported into the United States.

U.S. Attorney John Durham said in a press release that José Adolfo Macías Villamar’s nickname is “fito” – Los Choneros and his “network of Assassins and Drug and Weapons Trafficking Networks” have been said by Los Choneros since at least 2020. Macías Villamar escaped from a prison in Ecuador last year but was not detained in the United States.

“The defendants are the ruthless leader of violent transnational criminal organizations and prolific drug dealers,” he said.

Macías Villamar has cultivated cult status among his home country’s gang members and the public, including allegations of murder and organized crime on a wide criminal record. In the prison in 2023, he released a video involving the “Ecuadorian people” while the armed forces flanked. He also had a party where he could get into everything from wine to cockfighting.

Seven undisclosed charges in Brooklyn alleged Macias Villamar and an unidentified co-defendant, including international cocaine allocation, conspiracy and weapon counts, including smuggled guns from the United States.

According to the indictment, Los Choneros hired people to buy guns, components and ammunition in the United States and smuggled them to Ecuador. Cocaine will flow into the United States with the help of Mexican cartels. Together, these groups control the main cocaine trafficking routes through Ecuador, fiercely targeting law enforcement, politicians, lawyers and civilians.

“Los Choneros runs a massive network that transports and distributes multiple tonnes of cocaine from South America, Central America and Mexico to the United States and elsewhere,” the indictment said. “The vast majority of drugs trafficked by Los Choneros are imported into the United States, where drugs are consumed.”

In January 2024, Macias Villamar was found missing in a prison cell in Quito, Ecuador, where he was sentenced to 34 years in prison for drug trafficking. The BBC reported that a 60-day state of emergency was declared after he escaped.

Last year, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on gangs Los Choneros and Macias Villamar.

Earlier this month, the Ecuadorian government announced that the reward for capturing Macias Villamar would increase to $1 million.

Los Choneros is 20 Criminal gangs Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has been declared a “terrorist organization” who led a war on drug gangs on a surge in violent crimes in once-peaceful South American countries.

Noboa announced State of emergency and deployment of troops In prisons for street and violent behavior, the homicide rate fell slightly in 2024 compared to the previous year. The President took action last year The gunman rushed in and fired In television studios and in bandits, it is threatened to randomly execute civilians and security forces. Prosecutors who investigated the attack later Shoot to death.

Earlier this year, the leader of Los Lobos, one of Ecuador’s largest criminal groups, was Arrested at his home In the coastal city of Portoviejo. this Last year, the United States announced Los Lobos Become the largest drug trafficking organization in Ecuador.