After several months of searches, inconclusive intelligence operations, and other investigative tactics, on June 25, the so-called Security Bloc, made up of several law enforcement agencies, succeeded in capturing José Adolfo Macías Villamar, alias “Fito”, leader of Los Choneros, one of the most powerful gangs in Ecuador.
According to authorities, more than 200 law enforcement agents, including military and police, participated in the operation. Almost a month prior, the Security Bloc launched operation “Operation Centinela VI”, carrying out 32 raids in several provinces of the country, where several people linked to Macías Villamar were apprehended.
The capture of Fito took place in a house in Montecristi, in the province of Manabí, allegedly belonging to a relative of the most renowned fugitive in Ecuador. The authorities found a sort of subway bunker there. According to the secretary of security, John Reimberg, the operation took more than 10 hours. Along with the leader of Los Choneros, four people will also be prosecuted by the authorities.
The truth is that the term “capture” is not entirely appropriate. Fito’s apprehension is actually a “recapture”. In January 2024, the country was shocked to learn that Fito had escaped from jail, despite the immense resources that the government had allocated to the prisons to prevent that kind of mishap.
The successful recapture of the wanted fugitive was quickly announced by President Daniel Noboa, who has taken advantage of the incident to defend several controversial laws recently passed by the ruling party-controlled National Assembly. These laws allow, among other things, spying on citizens without a court order, and for the investigations and expenses of intelligence teams to be deemed classified.
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On X, the president of Ecuador posted: “For those who opposed and doubted the need for the Solidarity and Intelligence laws: thanks to those laws, Fito was captured today and is in the hands of the Security Block. My recognition to our police and military who participated in this operation. More will fall, we will recover the country.”
Furthermore, Noboa announced his intention to extradite the leader of Los Choneros to the US, where there is an open investigation against Fito in the New York District Court for arms and drug trafficking: “We have done our part to proceed with the extradition of Fito to the United States, we are awaiting your response.”
Some analysts interpret Noboa’s statement as an admission of the state’s failure to keep high-profile detainees in its custody without risking their escape.
After the recapture, Adolfo Macías was taken to Guayaquil on a military plane, to be later transferred to a maximum-security prison in Daule called La Roca.
Whether the capture of Macías Villamar will bring some peace to a country plagued by insecurity remains to be seen. Ecuador is the most violent country in Latin America, where, according to official data, one person dies violently every hour.
The government hopes that the recapture of Fito will demonstrate the improved logistical capacity of law enforcement to regain control of the country. However, some experts argue that it could be the beginning of an upsurge in the violence that pits various national gangs – allied with foreign gangs – against each other for control of drug distribution routes in Ecuador.
