On June 25th, Ecuadorian authorities arrested Jose Adolfo Macias, a.k.a. They located him, however, holed up in palatial digs in the coastal province of Manabí. This operation is a significant turning point in the anti-drug battle with the notorious Los Choneros gang. Macías, currently one of the last remaining founding members, has been singled out in this effort. In his decade-long imprisonment, he became known for the gang’s money laundering expertise. This was a result of his major criminal conduct, responsible for multiple homicides and narcotics trafficking.
Ecuadorian Security Bloc members initiated a ten-hour special security operation to apprehend Macías. He had been on the run since his January 2024 jailbreak from La Regional prison. His day-to-day actions were strictly surveilled. They knew well that he was inextricably linked to their country’s past drug-trafficking stronghold of Manabí province. Law enforcement was fortunate to find Macías when they did. He was living the high life, in a mansion no less—pool, gym, game room—all while it was still being built.
As local government officials and law enforcement agents pulled up to the property, Macías’s fear was obvious. He soon found that the overhead of his bunker—an underground extension in the house—was threatening to cave in. That panic drove him to open a hitherto hidden hatch where military officers were waiting, forcing his immediate capture.
“They started to excavate. As soon as this happened, Fito panicked because if we continued, the roof of his bunker would collapse. At that moment, he opened the hatch, where the military was already located, and climbed out of the hole where he was hiding. That’s how we detained him,” – Ecuador’s Interior Minister John Reimberg
Her underground bunker had air conditioning and was even camouflaged, allowing it to blend in with the rest of the home. It proved to be Macías’s sanctuary, helping him avoid capture for several years. After his capture, Ecuadorian authorities immediately began transferring him to Manta Air Base, and soon thereafter to Guayaquil Air Base.
Once in custody, Macías was transferred to the La Roca maximum-security prison located in the Guayaquil prison complex, notorious for extreme violence. This facility is infamous for holding some of Ecuador’s most dangerous criminals. Authorities were preparing to move him to a higher-security facility when he escaped earlier this year. He broke out of incarceration not long after being sentenced in 2011. He was recaptured months later after again escaping in 2013.
Asunderlined by President Lasso, Macías’s arrest represents a major victory for the Ecuadorian law enforcement. It additionally begs important questions about the next phase for Los Choneros. He’s been one of the gang’s most infamous members on the run ever since. Arresting him would reveal even deeper organized crime networks active in and out of Ecuador’s borders.
