Infamous Ecuadorian gang chief Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar – referred to as Fito – will face courtroom within the US after being extradited, his lawyer has mentioned.
The South American nation’s most-wanted fugitive vanished from jail in January 2024, with authorities desperately looking for him till he was lastly recaptured final month.
“Fito” has an intensive felony document together with costs of homicide and organised crime, and he was sentenced to 34 years behind bars in 2011.
Whereas neither the US nor Ecuador have confirmed his extradition, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa beforehand mentioned the transfer had been requested – and vowed that extra infamous gang members “will fall”.
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“Fito” was recaptured final month
The prisoner who lived like a king
Even after being thrown behind bars, “Fito” continued to function the chief of the Los Choneros gang up till his escape.
He additionally loved entry to cell phones and the web, watched TV and stored pets.
Vibrant murals of the gang chief have been even daubed throughout the jail partitions, together with one in all him flanked by two assault rifles.
However then in January final 12 months, he mysteriously vanished, resulting in a nationwide manhunt. Officers are but to clarify how he escaped.
Picture:
Needed poster of “Fito” from January 2024. Pic: Ecuador’s Ministry of Inside through AP, File
‘Fito’ recaptured
After greater than a 12 months in hiding, “Fito” was present in his hometown of Manta final month.
Footage from the Ecuadorian military confirmed a uniformed officer aiming a gun on the drug trafficker’s head after discovering him hiding in a small gap beneath a kitchen counter.
The announcement of his arrest got here in the identical week that one other gang chief was confirmed to have escaped from an Ecuadorian jail.
Extradition to the US
“Fito” will now face courtroom within the US following his reported extradition from Ecuador.
Flight knowledge reveals {that a} US authorities airplane departed from Guayaquil after 2 pm native time on Sunday.
“Mr Macias and I will appear tomorrow before the Brooklyn federal court… where he will plead not guilty,” his lawyer, Alexei Schacht, mentioned. “After, he will be held in a to-be-determined prison.”
The US Division of Justice has said that beneath Macias’ course, Los Choneros dedicated violent acts in opposition to legislation enforcement, politicians, attorneys, prosecutors and civilians.
Ecuador’s authorities says the gang workout routines huge management over the nation’s prisons, that are suffering from corruption and overcrowding.
