Security forces in Ecuador arrested Adolfo Macías Salazar, known as “Fito,” on Thursday after a 17-month manhunt. He is the most wanted drug cartel leader and gang boss in the country’s history.
Fito was arrested in his home territory in the province of Manabi, where the Los Choneros gang originated. The gang began its activities in the 1980s as a group of hired assassins and later expanded into drug trafficking, extortion and transnational crime.
Authorities said the operation, carried out jointly by the police and the army, lasted about 10 hours and did not result in any casualties.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa thanked the police and the army in a statement on social media, saying, “I thank our police and soldiers. More will be caught. We will take back our country, the fight continues.”
Ecuadorian authorities have already contacted the United States to hand over Masías to the American side, which has charged the criminal with drug and arms trafficking.
Fito was sentenced to 34 years in prison for murder, forming an organised criminal group, illegal possession of weapons and drug trafficking. After serving 12 years of his sentence, Fito took advantage of a riot that broke out on January 7, 2024 in Guayaquil prison to escape.
This is not his first escape: in 2013, he escaped from La Roca, a maximum-security prison in the same penitentiary complex, along with other members of his organisation. Fito rose to prominence after the murder of Jorge Luis Zambrano, nicknamed Raskina, the historic leader of Los Choneros. Since then, the group has split.
After the escape, riots and violence broke out in prisons across the country, resulting in numerous deaths. Following Fito’s escape and explosions targeting police cars, the government declared a 60-day state of emergency on January 9. Fito’s Los Choneros gang is one of the largest drug cartels in Ecuador.
