US EditionEcuador gang leader 'Fito' accepts extradition to US
ECUADOR, JUL 11 – Adolfo Macias, leader of Los Choneros gang, faces US charges after capture sparked violent gang unrest; his extradition marks Ecuador's first under new anti-gang law.
- On Friday, a Quito court announced that Adolfo Macias, alias 'Fito,' will be extradited to the United States to face charges of cocaine and weapons smuggling.
- Following his January escape from Guayaquil's maximum-security prison, Los Choneros responded with violence including car bombs and a TV station takeover, prompting a nationwide manhunt.
- Authorities recaptured Fito last month in Manta during a massive operation, finding him hiding in a bunker beneath floor tiles in a luxury home with no shots fired.
- Following his court-approved consent, Ecuador's president moves to finalize Macias’s extradition paperwork, accelerating his upcoming U.S. trial in Brooklyn for drug and weapons charges.
- This is the first Ecuadoran extradition under the 2024 referendum law, with Macias facing seven charges in a Brooklyn court, marking a legal milestone.
54 Articles
54 Articles
Ecuador's top drug lord, 'Fito,' agrees to US extradition
On Friday, Adolfo Macias, aka 'Fito,' took part in a court hearing via video link from a high-security prison in Guayaquil. After months of pursuit, Macias was recaptured last month in a massive military and police operation. He was found hiding in a bunker concealed under floor tiles in a luxury home in the fishing port of Manta.
Ecuadorian notorious gang leader Jose Adolfo Macias, better known as "Fito," has agreed in a Quito court to be extradited to the United States. "Yes, I accept, Your Honor," he told the judge presiding over the case. Macias himself attended the hearing virtually. Macias is facing trial in a U.S. federal court in Brooklyn, New York, on seven charges, including drug and weapons trafficking. The gang leader escaped from prison in Ecuador in January …
The leader of one of the country's main gangs, the "Tsoneros", was arrested at the end of June, a year and a half after his escape from a Guayaquil prison.
José Adolfo Macías, alias Fito, had a hard time saying the words: “Yes, I accept, your honor.” The phrase, although brief, sealed the fate of the man who for years sowed terror from inside and outside Ecuador’s prisons. The leader of Los Choneros, one of Ecuador’s most feared criminal organizations, accepted his extradition to the United States, where seven charges of drug trafficking and arms trafficking await him. U.S. justice has closely foll…
Ecuador's Notorious Gang Leader 'Fito' Agrees to U.S. Extradition
Ecuadorian gang leader Jose Adolfo Macias, known as "Fito," has agreed to extradition to the U.S. to face drug and gun charges. Following his January 2024 prison escape, Macias was recaptured and will now face trial in a Brooklyn federal court. Ecuador had approved extraditions in an earlier referendum.
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