Ecuador in state of emergency after drug boss’s prison break
Police fear a rapid rise in violence following the escape of the trafficking kingpin known as ‘Fito’
Anotorious trafficking kingpin linked to the escalating drug gang war in Ecuador broke out of prison, triggering a state of emergency and a wave of violence.
Authorities in the once relatively peaceful South American country launched one of the biggest manhunts in its history after José Adolfo Macias Villamar, known as “Fito”, escaped in the port city of Guayaquil.
The leader of the Choneros gang – linked to a spate of beheadings – was due to move prisons when fighting erupted across Ecuador’s penal system.
His disappearance forced Ecuador’s new president, 36-year-old Daniel Noboa, who was elected on a promise to crack down on violent crime, to trigger emergency powers to track him down. But hours after the decree, four police officers were taken hostage.
“Time is up for those convicted of drug trafficking, assassination and organised crime to tell the government what to do,” said Mr Noboa. “We will not negotiate with terrorists and we will not rest until we have returned peace to Ecuadorians.”
Last night, a group of armed and masked men broke into a TV studio during a live news broadcast in an escalation of the unrest which caused the president to declare a state of “internal armed conflict”.
Broadcasting on the TC Channel based in the city of Guayaquil was interrupted and presenters and producers were forced to the floor before the live feed was cut off.
One of the assailants said: “We’re on air to show that you can’t mess with the mafia.”
Police sources told The Daily Telegraph dynamite was planted in the studio’s reception. Attackers pointed their guns at José Luis Calderon, the well-known TV presenter, as they showed their hand grenades and explosives to the cameras.
Local media in the city reported that staff working on the news programme had been taken hostage and Ecuador’s attorney general’s office said that 13 people arrested for breaking into the studio will be charged with terrorism.
Elsewhere, thousands of soldiers and police were deployed as the president ordered a curfew. Images from Guayaquil showed tanks and heavily armed soldiers patrolling the streets and setting up checkpoints. Such measures are now a common occurrence in the city, the epicentre of Ecuador’s bloody drug wars.
Fito, 44, was due to be returned to a maximum security facility on Sunday. Authorities had inexplicably allowed him to return to a regional prison under the control of the Choneros but he escaped before he could be moved.
His disappearing act happened during the latest wave of violence in prisons across the country at the weekend. Unverified videos on social media showed prison wardens apparently being held hostage by knife-wielding masked gangsters.
Police said they initially noticed Fito’s absence on Sunday morning and raised the alarm when they could not find him in the prison. Prosecutors later confirmed the escape and said two prison guards had been arrested.
Fito was being held at the Guayas 4 prison, known as La Regional, in Guayaquil, serving a 34-year sentence since 2011 for drug trafficking, murder and organised crime. The Choneros
‘We have to prepare for the worst ... Ecuador should brace itself ’
emerged as a powerful criminal group towards the end of the 1990s. Linked to the Mexican Sinaloa cartel, they came to dominate Ecuador’s criminal landscape, but the murder of the gang’s leader, Jorge Luis Zambrano, alias “Rasquiña”, in 2021 sparked infighting and a series of prison riots in which more than 400 inmates have been killed, with many beheaded.
Fito, a money laundering expert, assumed leadership of the Choneros but he could not prevent the gang from fragmenting into several factions. Trying to take advantage of the power vacuum left by Rasquiña’s death, groups such as the Tiguerones and the Chone Killers broke away from their former allies.
The resulting rivalry drives much of the trouble in Ecuador, which has now become one of Latin America’s most violent countries. In 2022, Ecuador’s murder rate increased by 82 per cent, according to think tank Insight Crime.
In the last year, the Choneros have been largely pushed out of Guayaquil as their rivals have grown in size and influence, challenging their control of Guayaquil’s prisons.
Last September, Fito recorded a defiant music video behind bars.
“He is the boss of all bosses – he is Adolfo Macías Villamar,” goes the song.
Prison authorities denied allowing audiovisual equipment into the jail but the professionally recorded video shows Fito cradling a cockerel, as well as a singing appearance from his daughter, known as Queen Michelle.
He also escaped detention 10 years ago but has more recently kept a low profile in prison, fearing for his life.
Criminal rivals Los Lobos, or the Wolves, have pledged to finish off the Choneros, moving into illegal mining and forming alliances with Mexican Jalisco New Generation cartel.
Fito was called out by former presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio for making threats before his assassination last year. Fito denied ordering the hit and has not been formally linked with the murder.
Police sources fear the escape could be part of a Choneros comeback strategy. “We have to prepare for the worst,” said the senior officer, who asked not to be named. “Ecuador should brace itself.”