Ecuador Extradites Leader of Ecuadorian Drug Gang to the United States

(Patria) - Ecuador extradited the leader of an Ecuadorian drug gang to the United States on Sunday. José Adolfo Macías Villamar, nicknamed Fito, escaped from a prison in Ecuador last year and was captured at the end of June. In April, a US prosecutor in New York charged him with importing thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the United States, AP reported.

Macías was taken from the La Roca detention center under the supervision of the National Police and the Armed Forces for the appropriate procedure in the context of the extradition process, SNAI, the Ecuadorian government agency responsible for prison oversight, said in a message sent to journalists.

Details of the handover were not provided. A photo released by SNAI shows Macías in a t-shirt, shorts, a bulletproof vest, and a helmet. Several police officers guarded him at an undisclosed location.

The extradition decision was made after the United States sent Ecuador a document offering guarantees for respecting the rights of the 45-year-old criminal leader.

Since 2020, Macías has led Los Choneros, a criminal organization that emerged in the 1990s. The gang recruited people to purchase firearms and ammunition in the United States and smuggle them into Ecuador, according to the April indictment.

Cocaine would enter the United States with the help of Mexican cartels. Together, the groups controlled key cocaine trafficking routes through Ecuador, targeting law enforcement agencies, politicians, lawyers, and civilians who stood in their way.

Macías escaped from a prison in Guayaquil where he was serving a 34-year sentence for drug trafficking, organized crime, and murder. He was captured a year and a half later.