Ecuador Extradites Notorious Drug Trafficker Adolfo Macías to the U.S.
The Ecuadoran government has handed over the high-profile drug trafficker Adolfo Macías to the United States, more than a year after he fled from a maximum-security prison.
A flight carrying Macías, also known as “Fito,” arrived in New York late on Sunday, as confirmed by a tracking service.
U.S. authorities filed charges in April against Macías, leader of the Los Choneros criminal group, accusing him of cocaine distribution, conspiracy, and firearms offenses, including weapon smuggling.
A U.S. Department of Justice document submitted on Sunday stated Macías would appear in a Brooklyn federal court on Monday for an arraignment on updated charges in the case. His attorney, Alexei Schacht, told media outlets that his client would plead not guilty.
A spokesperson for Ecuador’s national prison agency (SNAI) reported that Macías was taken from a high-security facility in southwestern Ecuador on Sunday as part of the extradition process.
Macías, a former taxi driver, consented to extradition in a Quito court last week.
His extradition is the first under a new legal provision approved last year after a referendum backed by President Daniel Noboa, who sought stronger measures to combat criminal organizations.
Ecuador, once a relatively peaceful nation between major cocaine-producing countries Colombia and Peru, has seen escalating violence as gangs linked to Mexican and Colombian cartels compete for influence.
Noboa declared an internal armed conflict in January 2024, deploying military forces following Macías’ escape. The decision drew criticism from human rights groups.
According to the Ecuadorian Organized Crime Observatory, Macías’ Los Choneros has connections to Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, Colombia’s Gulf Clan, and organized crime networks in the Balkans.
His escape triggered widespread unrest and a large-scale manhunt, with authorities offering a $1 million reward for information leading to his capture.
On 25 June, Macías was discovered in a hidden bunker beneath a luxury home in Manta, a key operational area for Los Choneros.
In a CNN interview, Noboa stated Macías would be extradited as soon as possible, adding, “the sooner, the better … We will gladly send him and let him answer to U.S. law.”
Government figures indicate over 70% of the world’s cocaine transits through Ecuador’s ports. The country seized a record 294 tons of narcotics, mostly cocaine, in 2024.
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