The fugitive leader of a violent Ecuadorian gang that relied on hitmen, bribes and military weapons to do business has been indicted in New York City on charges he imported thousands of pounds of cocaine into the United States, authorities said Wednesday.
José Adolfo Macías Villamar escaped from a prison in Ecuador last year and is not in U.S. custody, federal prosecutors said. He led Los Choneros and its “network of assassins and drug and weapon traffickers” since at least 2020.
“The defendant was a ruthless leader and prolific drug trafficker for a violent transnational criminal organization,” U.S. Attorney John Durham said in a news release.
The seven-count indictment unsealed in Brooklyn charges Villamar and an unidentified co-defendant with international cocaine distribution, conspiracy and weapons counts, including smuggling firearms from the United States.
Los Choneros employed people to buy firearms, components and ammunition in the United States and smuggle them into Ecuador, according to the indictment. Cocaine would flow into the United States with the help of Mexican cartels. Together, the groups controlled key cocaine trafficking routes through Ecuador.
“Los Choneros operated a vast network responsible for the shipment and distribution of multi-ton quantities of cocaine from South America through Central America and Mexico to the United States and elsewhere,” the indictment said. “The vast majority of drugs trafficked by Los Choneros were imported into the United States, where the drugs were consumed.”
In January 2024, Macias Villamar was discovered missing from his prison cell in Quito, Ecuador, where he was serving a 34-year sentence for drug trafficking.
Earlier this month, the Ecuadorian government announced the reward for the capture of Villamar, whose nickname is “Fito,” would be increased to $1 million.
Authorities in Ecuador have classified the gang as a terrorist organization.
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