Authorities in Ecuador are investigating the escape from prison of the leader of the criminal group Los Choneros, one of the main gangs involved in drug trafficking in the country.
The national commander of the Ecuadorian police, General Cesar Zapata, stated during a press conference this Sunday (7), that the armed forces confirmed the “disappearance” of one of the detainees in the Guayaquil penitentiary, without mentioning the prisoner's name.
However, the prosecutor's office later detailed that he was José Adolfo Macias, the “most wanted man in the country”, leader of Los Choneros, also known as “Fito”. He was sentenced in 2011 to 34 years in prison for several crimes, including drug trafficking and murder.
Since learning of the alleged escape, the Ecuadorian police launched an operation to recapture the criminal. “We are grateful for the courage and commitment of the police forces, who, in an operation that involved more than 3 thousand people, intervened in the prison in search of the most wanted prisoner,” said presidential spokesman Roberto Izurieta.
In recent years, Ecuador has been marked by the increase in power of organizations fighting to control drug trafficking in the country. This crime movement caused the country's streets, which previously enjoyed a certain stability, to become a battlefield marked by violence, murders and the devastating influence of organized crime.
In 2017, the homicide rate in Ecuador was 5.6 per 100,000 inhabitants, one of the lowest in Latin America. However, this rate has skyrocketed in recent years and reached 25.5 murders per 100,000 inhabitants in 2022.
Criminal factions, such as Los Choneros and Los Lobos, play central roles in this scenario. Los Choneros, linked to Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, used to be the dominant faction in Ecuador. However, after the death of its leader, Jorge Luis Zambrano, in 2020, the group lost its hegemony in the country.
This paved the way for Los Lobos: there are more than 8 thousand members distributed across Ecuadorian cities and prisons. The group is involved in major prison massacres in Ecuador, drug trafficking and even illegal mining.
Currently, Los Lobos compete with other factions, such as Los Tiguerones, which was born within Los Choneros, for control of prisons in Ecuador and drug trafficking in the country. The criminal organization collaborates with the Mexican cartel Jalisco Nova Geração (CJNG), which seeks to control cocaine routes in the country and expand its influence in the region.
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