Ecuador’s most notorious drug kingpin has been extradited to the United States, a month after he was recaptured following a prison escape that sparked a wave of violence across the country.
Jose Adolfo Macias, better known as “Fito,” was transferred Sunday from a maximum-security prison in the port city of Guayaquil to the city’s airport, where he was handed over to US officials who arrived earlier to carry out the extradition process, according to Ecuadorian prison authorities.
A US Department of Justice plane arrived in Guayaquil around 12:45 p.m., local time, and departed with the gang leader after 2 p.m., according to the city’s aviation agency. State media outlet TC television reported the plane arrived at 12:30 p.m plane and departed at 2:12 p.m departure.
A photograph released by Ecuadorian prison authorities Sunday showed Macias wearing shorts, a t-shirt, a helmet, and a bulletproof vest as he was escorted by several heavily armed National Police agents.
Since at least 2020, Macias has led the powerful Los Choneros criminal organization, which the US has accused of shipping and distributing multiple tons of cocaine from Ecuador to other countries.
Macias was indicted in a Brooklyn federal court in April on seven counts of drug trafficking and gun smuggling.
In January 2024, Macias escaped from a prison in Guayaquil, where he was serving a 34-year sentence for homicide and narcotics trafficking.
His escape unleashed a wave of violence in Ecuador, including a live takeover from gangs who stormed a popular TV station and held the crew hostage while on the air. Soon after, President Daniel Noboa declared an internal armed conflict and designated Los Choneros and 21 other criminal groups operating in the country as terror organizations.
He was captured last month by Ecuadorian authorities after over a year in hiding. Authorities found him in an underground bunker by a mansion in Manabí province. The villa was equipped with a home gym, marble walls, and a game room, among other amenities.
In a court document filed in the Eastern District of New York on Sunday, prosecutors requested that Macias be detained until his trial, citing the threat he poses to the public and the likelihood of a flight risk.
The same document stated that Macias was extradited to the US “for the sole purpose of facing prosecution.”
Macias’ lawyer in the US, Alexei Schacht, told CNN that his client will be in Brooklyn Federal Court on Monday, without specifying the time of the hearing.
If convicted, Macias faces a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and up to life behind bars.
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