July 21 (UPI) — Notorious Ecuadorian gang leader Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar has been extradited to the United States, where he is expected to make his first court appearance on Monday.
President Daniel Noboa of Ecuador confirmed late Sunday that Macias, leader of the Los Choneros gang and who is also known as Fito, has arrived in the United States.
“Goodbye forever, Fito,” Noboa said in a statement to social media. “Fito is now in the USA.”
The U.S. government has yet to confirm Macias’ extradition.
Hasta nunca, Fito.
Fito ya está en EEUU. Esto es gracias a ustedes, ecuatorianos, que dijeron sí a la consulta popular. Espero con gusto las teorías creativas que dirán que no.
Interceptamos también 14 toneladas de droga, eso es 560 millones de dólares menos para el… pic.twitter.com/BQ4hYs75nT— Daniel Noboa Azin (@DanielNoboaOk) July 21, 2025
Macias was recaptured in late June amid a controversial crackdown on gang violence in the country, conducted by Noboa using recently acquired powers granted to him by the National Assembly to combat internal armed conflict.
Macias was serving a 34-year sentence for a slew of crimes, including murder, when he escaped from Guayaquil’s regional prison in January, as gang violence was erupting in prisons across the nation.
In response to the violence, Noboa declared the country was in the midst of an “internal armed conflict” and launched a nationwide law enforcement effort targeting drug cartels and gangs after declaring them terrorists.
Macias was then sanctioned by the U.S. State Department in February and charged in a seven-count indictment with drug trafficking-related offenses in Brooklyn, N.Y., in April.
If convicted in the United States, he faces up to life in prison.
Noboa described Macias’ extradition as validation of his crackdown that has received international criticism from human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, over concerns that the new powers pose to the rights of Ecuadorians.
“This is thanks to you, Ecuadorians, who said yes to the referendum. I eagerly await the creative theories that will claim otherwise,” he said.
