Ecuador’s Most-Wanted Gang Leader ‘Fito’ Lands in Guayaquil Amid High Security
Guayaquil, Ecuador | June 26, 2025
In a dramatic development, Jose Adolfo Macias, widely known by his alias ‘Fito’, the notorious leader of Ecuador’s most feared criminal gang Los Choneros, has landed in Guayaquil under tight security surveillance. Fito, one of Ecuador’s most-wanted fugitives, had previously escaped from prison in early January, triggering a wave of violent unrest and national emergency across the country.
Fito’s return to Guayaquil has sparked heightened security alerts, with military and police units deployed in large numbers to escort and guard him. His transfer is part of an ongoing operation by Ecuadorian authorities to reassert control over prison gangs that have long held sway within and beyond jail walls.
Once a mid-level drug trafficker, Fito rose to power leading Los Choneros—an organization linked with transnational cartels and blamed for numerous murders, prison riots, and extortion rackets. His escape in January had embarrassed the government and exposed the deep-rooted influence of organized crime in Ecuador’s penitentiary system.
It is not yet confirmed whether he will be housed again in La Roca maximum-security prison, from where he had escaped, or transferred to a new undisclosed location.
Authorities have urged the public to remain calm as law enforcement tightens grip on gang networks, vowing to bring an end to narco-terrorism in the region.
More updates awaited.