Ecuador's Most Notorious Drug Lord Captured After 18-Month Manhunt
Nearly 18 months after his dramatic escape from a maximum-security prison, Ecuador’s most wanted man, drug kingpin José Adolfo “Fito” Macías Villamar, was captured while hiding in a secret underground bunker in the coastal city of Manta.
Ecuadorian authorities revealed details of the high-stakes operation that led to the arrest of Macías—leader of the powerful Los Choneros cartel and an alleged key player in the cocaine trade between South America and the U.S.
According to U.S. federal prosecutors, Los Choneros boasts around 5,000 members inside Ecuador’s prison system and 7,000 more operating outside. In alliance with Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, they’ve controlled major cocaine trafficking routes across Ecuador. Macías currently faces federal charges in Brooklyn for trafficking large volumes of cocaine into the United States.
The Ecuadorian government, working alongside U.S. intelligence agencies, began tracking Macías after his escape from La Regional prison in Guayaquil in early 2024. The breakthrough came on June 25, when Ecuador’s Security Bloc received intelligence linking a luxury property in Manta—long known as a Choneros stronghold—to the fugitive.
The tipoff came after investigators noticed a local transport official hadn’t reported to work. That official, it turned out, was secretly providing private security for Macías. Surveillance soon led authorities to a villa owned by Macías’s girlfriend, Verónica Narcisa Briones Zambrano, who herself is in custody at another Guayaquil prison.
What followed was a tightly coordinated 10-hour military and police operation. To prevent interference, security forces locked down a 15-block radius around the property. Tactical units raided the compound, which featured a private gym, a game room, and marble-finished interiors—though some areas were still under construction.
The breakthrough came when agents discovered a concealed trapdoor in the floor. Beneath it: an air-conditioned, reinforced bunker. Using wall-density scanners and underground mapping devices, security teams began excavating the area behind the villa.
"A surveillance drone flagged suspicious terrain behind the house," said Interior Minister Reimberg. "We brought in a backhoe. As soon as the digging began, Fito panicked—he knew the bunker ceiling might collapse. He opened the hatch and surrendered on the spot."
Armed forces were waiting.
Macías was pulled from the bunker, handcuffed, and ordered to state his name. “Adolfo Macías Villamar,” he said, lying face down with rifles trained on him.
Authorities also arrested four of his personal bodyguards. Macías has since been transferred to La Roca, Ecuador’s highest-security prison, located within the Guayaquil prison complex—just steps from the facility he escaped in January 2024.
President Daniel Noboa confirmed that Ecuador is preparing to extradite Macías to the United States and is awaiting a formal response from U.S. officials.
According to U.S. prosecutors, Macías has led Los Choneros since at least 2020, overseeing a vast cocaine smuggling network that routes drugs through Central America and Mexico into the U.S. His cartel is accused of using murder, intimidation, bribery, and weapons smuggling from the U.S. to expand its influence.
“Macías is a brutal and notorious drug lord,” said U.S. Attorney John J. Durham of the Eastern District of New York. “He has caused massive harm through the export of deadly cocaine into the U.S. while overseeing a network of hitmen and traffickers. His actions have devastated both Ecuador and America.”
In recent years, Ecuador has transformed from a peaceful nation into a key hub for global cocaine trafficking. Gangs like Los Choneros have partnered with Mexican cartels and Albanian mafia groups, infiltrating government structures and turning prisons into command centers.
In September 2023, Macías taunted the government by releasing a flashy music video filmed inside prison. By January 2024, rumors of his escape swirled—and when police arrived, he was gone. Intelligence sources believe Macías walked out the front door after receiving an insider tip about his impending prison transfer.
The government launched an aggressive manhunt. On March 9, authorities offered a $1 million reward for information leading to his capture. In the weeks that followed, officials arrested members of his inner circle and seized several of his assets—a psychological strategy meant to destabilize him.
His capture marks a major victory for President Noboa, who has vowed to crack down on escalating violence and restore order.
“I commend the courage of our police and military who carried out this mission,” Noboa said. “This is just the beginning. Many more will be brought to justice. We will take our country back.”
(According to The Washington Post, CNN, AFP, Reuters)
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