Men Disguised as Police Kill Ecuadorian Drug Lord’s Brother

Sun Sep 06 2026 05:19:20 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

In a ruthless strike, men masquerading as police shot David Macías on Sunday, a key player in Los Choneros. The hit rattles a network already under U.S. pressure.

A brother of the feared drug trafficker Adolfo Macías was shot and killed by operatives impersonating police officers in an upscale Ecuadorian neighborhood. The gunmen burst into David Macías’s rented apartment in Olón, near Guayaquil, and fled without leaving witnesses. Los Choneros, declared a foreign terrorist organization by the United States, has been linked to Ecuador’s deadly spike in homicides. Police have yet to arrest anyone, amid rumours of internal power struggles within the gang. The murder marks another blow to Los Choneros after the extradition of Adolfo Macías and the capture of his brother Javier in Colombia.

Men Disguised as Police Kill Ecuadorian Drug Lord’s Brother

Man in blue T‑shirt assaulted by disguised police — David Macías, 35, was shot by men posing as police in Olón, a suburb of Guayaquil. He was a regional leader of Los Choneros, a powerful criminal group whose chief, Adolfo Macías, was extradited to the U.S. the previous year.

In the early hours of Sunday, men entered Macías’s rented apartment in the upscale neighbourhood of Olón, in Ecuador’s high‑profile coastal province. The attackers, dressed in police uniforms complete with balaclavas, burst into the house and fired shots that killed Macías.

Police identified the victim as a 35‑year‑old regional commander of Los Choneros, a gang that the United States has designated as a foreign terrorist organisation. The group is widely blamed for a steep rise in murder cases across Ecuador.

Authorities report that the gunmen fled the scene immediately and no arrests have been made in connection with the hit. The targeting of gang leaders is often rooted in rivalries or internal power struggles; recently another Los Choneros figure was gunned down outside Guayaquil’s airport by teenage gunmen.

Macías had been convicted in 2018 on charges of criminal conspiracy and had used his time in prison to recruit inmates and strengthen Los Choneros’ influence within the facility. The killing of his brother further destabilises the gang following the extradition of Adolfo Macías last year and the arrest of Javier Macías in neighbouring Colombia.