In a shocking development from Ecuador, Adolfo Macías Villamar, prominently recognized as “Fito” and the notorious leader of the Los Choneros gang, is reported missing from La Regional prison in Guayaquil. Reports suggest that the Ecuadorian authorities noticed the absence of a prisoner, but remain reticent to provide additional information.
The sudden realization sparked off when César Zapata, the Commander of the Ecuadorian police force, revealed this noteworthy absence during a press conference. This development led to the deployment of a massive manhunt involving thousands of officers, as confirmed by a government spokesperson.
Fito is notoriously known for being the leader of the Los Choneros gang, which wields significant power within the Ecuadorian prison system. His ascension to leadership took place after the assassination of the previous leader, Jorge Luis Zambrano González. This is not Fito’s first instance of disappearing; he notoriously led a break-out involving 17 inmates from a maximum security prison in 2013, subsequently remaining elusive for several months. He was then incarcerated for organized crime, drug trafficking, and homicide, sentenced to 34 years.
Ecuador’s increasing record of violence since 2020 has been widely attributed to diverse motives such as drug trafficking by influential cartels, systemic economic instability due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the intensifying role of criminal gangs. The climate further worsened with the assassination of a presidential candidate outspoken against systemic corruption in August, followed by an acute rise in attacks on justice officials, a situation that caused concern for the UN.