The United States imposed economic sanctions on the Ecuadorian drug criminal group Los Choneros and its leader, Adolfo Macías, alias Fito, the Treasury Department reported this Wednesday.
“Drug trafficking gangs like Los
Choneros, many of them linked to powerful Mexican drug cartels, threaten the lives and livelihoods of communities in Ecuador and throughout the region,” said Brian E. Nelson, Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. , cited in a statement.
Tons of drugs seized in Ecuador in 29 days of 'internal armed conflict'
Nearly 47 tons of drugs have been seized in Ecuador during the first 29 days of the 'internal armed conflict' declared against organized crime gangs.
The figure emerges from the latest daily balance of the Government of Ecuador published this Wednesday on the police and military operations carried out in the national territory under this new scenario, where 22 organized crime gangs have been considered terrorist groups and non-state belligerent actors.
The 'internal armed conflict' was declared by the president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, on January 9 in the face of a wave of attacks and violent actions attributed to organized crime, which included the kidnapping of police officers, explosion alerts, burning vehicles, simultaneous riots in prisons with some 200 hostages who managed to be freed and the takeover of a television channel by thirteen armed hooded men, now detained.
'Fito', the leader of 'Los Choneros' had escaped from prison
During those riots, nearly 90 prisoners escaped, including Fabricio Colón Pico, considered one of the leaders of the 'Los Lobos' gang and accused of allegedly planning an attack against the attorney general, Diana Salazar. So far 34 have been recaptured.
Before those episodes José Adolfo Macías, better known as 'Fito', the leader of 'Los Choneros', had fled. one of the most violent gangs in the country, and now classified by the Government of Daniel Noboa as “terrorists.”
EFE AND AFP*
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