Ecuador recaptures gang leader wanted in the U.S. more than a year after his prison escape

QUITO, Ecuador — A fugitive drug trafficker wanted by authorities in Ecuador and the United States was recaptured more than a year after he escaped from prison in the Andean nation, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa announced Wednesday.

José Adolfo Macías, alias “Fito,” who led a gang called “Los Choneros” in Ecuador and has been indicted in New York City on charges he imported thousands of pounds of cocaine into the United States, was captured in the Ecuadorian city of Manta, his hometown, officials in Ecuador said.

Interpol had issued an arrest warrant for Macias after his mysterious prison escape in early 2024 from the Guayaquil Regional Prison, where he was serving a 34-year sentence for drug trafficking. Ecuadorian authorities have yet to explain how he escaped. They only learned of his escape when a military contingent arrived to transfer him to another maximum-security prison but didn’t find him in his cell.

The Ecuadorian army confirmed Macias’ recapture in what appeared to be the basement of a house. A video provided by the army showed the moment of the arrest, with a uniformed officer aiming a gun at the head of the drug trafficker, who gave his full name. The officers had found him hiding in a small hole beneath what appeared to be a kitchen counter.

Wednesday’s announcement of his arrest comes in the same week that Federico Gómez, alias “Fede,” the leader of another gang called Las Aguilas, was confirmed to have escaped from an Ecuadorian prison.

Last year, U.S. Attorney John Durham said in a news release that Macias led Los Choneros and its “network of assassins and drug and weapon traffickers” since at least 2020.

With an extensive criminal record including charges of murder and organized crime, Macías has cultivated a cult status among fellow gang members and the public in his home country.

While behind bars in 2023, he released a video addressed to “the Ecuadorian people” while flanked by armed men. He also threw parties in prison, where he had access to everything from liquor to roosters for cockfighting matches.

The seven-count indictment unsealed in Brooklyn charges Macías and an unidentified co-defendant with international cocaine distribution, conspiracy and weapons counts, including smuggling firearms from the United States.

Los Choneros employed people to buy firearms, components and ammunition in the United States and smuggle them into Ecuador, according to the indictment. Cocaine would flow into the United States with the help of Mexican cartels.

“Los Choneros operated a vast network responsible for the shipment and distribution of multi-ton quantities of cocaine from South America through Central America and Mexico to the United States and elsewhere,” the indictment says.

Last year, the U.S. classified Los Choneros as one of the most violent gangs and affirmed its connection to powerful Mexican drug cartels who threaten Ecuador and the surrounding region.

Authorities in Ecuador have classified the gang as a terrorist organization. Earlier this month, the Ecuadorian government announced the reward for the capture of Macías would be increased to $1 million.