The leader of Ecuador’s Los Choneros gang—long considered the country’s most wanted fugitive—is set to be extradited to the United States after being captured 18 months after his escape from prison.
Jose Adolfo Macias, also known by the alias “Fito,” was arrested Wednesday in his hometown of Manta in a 10-hour operation. Police found him hiding in a concealed underground bunker. He reportedly did not resist arrest.
His capture comes nearly a year and a half after he escaped from Ecuador’s largest prison in Guayaquil in January 2024, just days before he was due to be transferred to a maximum-security facility.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa confirmed plans to extradite Macias. “We have done our part to proceed with Fito’s extradition to the U.S.; we are awaiting their response,” he said.
Macias is expected to stand trial in New York on international drug trafficking and firearms charges. If convicted, he could face a life sentence.
Originally arrested in 2011—the same year he rose to a leadership position in Los Choneros as an aide to then-boss Jorge Luis Zambrano, known as “Rasquiña”—Macias was sentenced to 34 years for murder, drug trafficking, and other crimes. He first escaped prison in 2013 but was recaptured months later, continuing to expand his influence behind bars. He assumed full control of Los Choneros in 2020 following Rasquiña’s death, who had been slated for release.
Macias’ most recent escape in 2024 triggered a wave of gang violence across Ecuador, compounded by the simultaneous prison break of rival gang leader Abraccio Colón Pico, known as “Captain Pico,” along with 30 other inmates.
In response, Ecuador’s government declared a 60-day state of emergency, prompting what the U.S. Treasury Department described as “additional prison riots and gang attacks across the country, including kidnappings and bombings.” The U.S. later imposed sanctions on both Los Choneros and Macias.
“More will fall; we will reclaim the country. Without respite,” Noboa wrote.