{"id":16919,"date":"2025-04-02T23:15:30","date_gmt":"2025-04-02T23:15:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/leader-of-notorious-ecuador-drug-gang-who-vanished-from-prison-cell-is-indicted-in-u-s\/"},"modified":"2025-04-02T23:15:30","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T23:15:30","slug":"leader-of-notorious-ecuador-drug-gang-who-vanished-from-prison-cell-is-indicted-in-u-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/leader-of-notorious-ecuador-drug-gang-who-vanished-from-prison-cell-is-indicted-in-u-s\/","title":{"rendered":"Leader of notorious Ecuador drug gang who vanished from prison cell is indicted in U.S."},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>The fugitive leader of a violent <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/us-sanctions-powerful-ecuador-crime-gang-los-lobos-leader-pipo\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">Ecuadorian gang<\/a><\/span> that relied on hitmen, bribes and military weapons to do business has been indicted in New York City on charges he imported thousands of pounds of cocaine into the United States, authorities said Wednesday. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Jos\u00e9 Adolfo Mac\u00edas Villamar \u2014 whose nickname is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbs42.com\/news\/international\/ap-what-we-know-about-fito-ecuadors-notorious-gang-leader-who-went-missing-from-prison\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">&#8220;Fito&#8221;<\/a> \u2014 has led Los Choneros and its &#8220;network of assassins and drug and weapon traffickers&#8221; since at least 2020, U.S. Attorney John Durham said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-edny\/pr\/jose-adolfo-fito-macias-villamar-leader-los-choneros-transnational-criminal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">news release<\/a>. Mac\u00edas Villamar  escaped from a prison in Ecuador last year and is not in U.S. custody.\u00a0  <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The defendant was a ruthless leader and prolific drug trafficker for a violent transnational criminal organization,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>With an extensive criminal record including charges of murder and organized crime, Mac\u00edas Villamar \u00a0has 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 &#8220;the Ecuadorian people&#8221; while flanked by armed men. He also threw parties in prison, where he had access to everything from liquor to roosters for cockfighting matches. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-edny\/media\/1395276\/dl?inline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">seven-count indictment<\/a>\u00a0unsealed in Brooklyn charges Macias Villamar and an unidentified co-defendant with international cocaine distribution, conspiracy and weapons counts, including smuggling firearms from the United States.<\/p>\n<p>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. Together, the groups controlled key cocaine trafficking routes through Ecuador, violently targeting law enforcement, politicians, lawyers and civilians who stood in the way.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;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,&#8221; the indictment says. &#8220;The vast majority of drugs trafficked by Los Choneros were imported into the United States, where the drugs were consumed.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In January 2024, Macias Villamar  was discovered missing from his prison cell in Quito, Ecuador, where he was serving a 34-year sentence for drug trafficking. A 60-day state of emergency was declared after his escape, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-latin-america-67912235\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">the BBC reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"embed embed--type-image is-image embed--float-none embed--size-medium\">\n<p>      <span class=\"img embed__content\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/04\/02\/2cfb71d0-563b-4f79-9be7-8486672fc17a\/thumbnail\/1240x1531\/ffa7f337e921c7d4f91c9e3e1434218b\/ap25092532346396.jpg?v=7613930c2bdb7d1bf55be910a9b022f2#\" alt=\"Ecuador-Gang Leader \" height=\"1531\" width=\"1240\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/span><figcaption class=\"embed__caption-container\">\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__caption\">This wanted poster posted on X by Ecuador&#8217;s Ministry of Interior on Jan. 9, 2024, shows Jos\u00e9 Adolfo Mac\u00edas Villamar, alias Fito, the leader of Los Choneros gang.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                Ecuador&#8217;s Ministry of Interior via AP, File<\/p>\n<p>                          <\/span><br \/>\n              <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Last year,\u00a0 the <a href=\"https:\/\/home.treasury.gov\/news\/press-releases\/jy2082\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions<\/a> on the gang Los Choneros as well as Macias Villamar. <\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, the Ecuadorian government announced that the reward for the capture of Macias Villamar would be increased to $1 million.<\/p>\n<p>Los Choneros is one of 20 <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/drug-gangs-ecuador-death-saint-protection-human-sacrifices\/\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">criminal gangs<\/a><\/span> declared &#8220;terrorist groups&#8221; by Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa, who has led a war on drug gangs blamed for a surge in violent crime in the once-peaceful South American country.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Noboa declared a\u00a0<span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/ecuador-government-cartels-declare-war-daniel-noboa\/\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">state of emergency and deployed troops<\/a><\/span>\u00a0in the streets and violence-riddled prisons, resulting in a slight dip in homicide rates in 2024 from the previous year. The president took action last year after\u00a0<span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/ecuador-gunmen-fire-shots-live-tv-country-violent-attacks-daniel-noboa\/\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">gunmen stormed and opened fire<\/a><\/span>\u00a0in a TV studio and bandits threatened random executions of civilians and security forces. A prosecutor investigating the assault was later\u00a0<span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/cesar-suarez-ecuador-prosecutor-investigating-tv-studio-attack-shot-dead\/\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">shot dead<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year, a leader of one of Ecuador&#8217;s biggest crime syndicates, Los Lobos, was\u00a0<span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/ecuador-arrests-los-lobos-leader-targeted-by-us\/\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">arrested at his home<\/a><\/span>\u00a0in the coastal city of Portoviejo. The\u00a0<span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/us-sanctions-powerful-ecuador-crime-gang-los-lobos-leader-pipo\/\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">U.S. last year declared Los Lobos<\/a><\/span>\u00a0to be the largest drug trafficking organization in Ecuador.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- data-recirc-source=\"queryly\" --><\/p>\n<aside class=\"component list recirculation component--type-recirculation \">\n<p><h3 class=\"component__title\">More from CBS News<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>    <!-- tags --><\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     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