After a ten-hour mission, police and military forces apprehended the notorious drug lord Adolfo "Fito" Macías Villamar in an underground bunker beneath a luxury residence in the coastal city of Manta, Ecuador. Fito, who leads the infamous Los Choneros gang, has been attributed to the significant rise in the country’s homicide rates and is suspected of orchestrating the brutal assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio in 2023.
The operation commenced with extensive surveillance, leading officers to surround the three-story luxury home in Manta's Monterrey neighborhood. Upon breaching the building, they discovered a cleverly disguised trap door that led to Fito's underground lair, equipped with air conditioning, a bed, and even a fridge, showcasing the extent of his elaborate hideout. Remarkably, Fito did not resist arrest and was subsequently transferred via air to Guayaquil, home to several maximum-security facilities.
Footage upon his arrival in Guayaquil revealed the drug lord dressed casually in shorts and flip-flops, escorted by heavily armed officers to an SUV that would take him to La Roca prison. Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa expressed his gratitude towards the security forces for their success and announced intentions to extradite Fito to the United States, where he faces serious cocaine smuggling charges.
Fito's criminal history is extensive; he previously escaped from La Regional prison in January 2024, which led to violent riots and a nationwide state of emergency. Notably, despite serving a 34-year sentence for murder and drug trafficking, he managed to run his gang's operations from prison. His power expanded as he formed alliances with the Mexican Sinaloa cartel, bringing violent practices to the Ecuadorian landscape, such as decapitations.
The drug lord's notoriety surged when a music video featuring him, partly filmed in prison, highlighted his criminal legacy, shared by his family. Following his 2024 escape, which posed a significant challenge to Noboa's newly assumed presidency, the recent capture illustrates the government's commitment to combating organized crime, with Noboa asserting, "More drug lords will fall, and we will regain control of the country."
