Ecuador's most notorious drug kingpin has been extradited to the US
Jose Adolfo Macias, better known as 'Fito,' was transferred Sunday from a maximum-security prison in the port city of Guayaquil to the city's airport, where he was handed over to US officials who arrived earlier to carry out the extradition process, according to Ecuadorian prison authorities.
A US Department of Justice plane arrived in Guayaquil around 12:45 p.m., local time, and departed with the gang leader after 2 p.m., according to the city's aviation agency.
A photograph released by Ecuadorian prison authorities Sunday showed Macias wearing shorts, a t-shirt, a helmet, and a bulletproof vest as he was escorted by several heavily armed National Police agents.
Since at least 2020, Macias has led the powerful Los Choneros criminal organization, which the US has accused of shipping and distributing multiple tons of cocaine from Ecuador to other countries.
Macias was indicted in a Brooklyn federal court in April on seven counts of drug trafficking and gun smuggling.
In January 2024, Macias escaped from a prison in Guayaquil, where he was serving a 34-year sentence for homicide and narcotics trafficking.
His escape unleashed a wave of violence in Ecuador, including a live takeover from gangs who stormed a popular TV station and held the crew hostage while on the air. Soon after, President Daniel Noboa declared an internal armed conflict and designated Los Choneros and 21 other criminal groups operating in the country as terror organizations.
He was captured last month by Ecuadorian authorities after over a year in hiding. Authorities found him in an underground bunker by a mansion in Manabí province. The villa was equipped with a home gym, marble walls, and a game room, among other amenities.
In a court document filed in the Eastern District of New York on Sunday, prosecutors requested that Macias be detained until his trial, citing the threat he poses to the public and the likelihood of a flight risk.
The same document stated that Macias was extradited to the US 'for the sole purpose of facing prosecution.'
Macias' lawyer in the US, Alexei Schacht, told CNN that his client will be in Brooklyn Federal Court on Monday, without specifying the time of the hearing.
If convicted, Macias faces a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and up to life behind bars.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Teenager with ‘unhealthy interest' in knives guilty of 18-year-old's murder
A balaclava-clad teenager who had an 'unhealthy interest' in knives, and grinned before fatally stabbing an 18-year-old man through the heart with a Rambo-style knife, has been found guilty of murder. Charles Hartle, who was 17 at the time, carried out the 'utterly pointless killing' when he attacked Noah Smedley on a dark street in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, on the evening of December 28 last year, with the knife he kept hidden in his tracksuit bottoms. Hartle, of Station Road, Stanley, was found guilty of murdering Mr Smedley on Friday, after a two-week trial at Derby Crown Court, Derbyshire Police said. Prosecution counsel Adrian Langdale KC said that as Hartle moved towards Mr Smedley, he 'grinned or smiled before deliberately aiming for and stabbing him in the chest'. The court was told that Hartle and his friends had arranged to meet Mr Smedley, who arrived at the scene on an electric scooter and sold them cannabis. Mr Langdale said the defendant regularly carried a Rambo-style knife for 'the kudos and bravado' and to show others he was a 'big man'. Derbyshire Police said Hartle, who liked to go by the nickname Lil Cee, went to meet his girlfriend at a house party after stabbing Mr Smedley in the heart. Witnesses at the party reportedly saw him confess to her what he had done and produce the knife, which has never been recovered. Hartle then travelled to Derby city centre to distance himself from the scene, where Mr Smedley had been found by members of the public at about 8.20pm. He was pronounced dead just before 9pm. In the hours after the murder, Hartle disposed of his clothing, the knife, and his phone, before eventually handing himself in at Ilkeston police station. In a prepared statement given to police, Hartle said he accepted inflicting the injury on Mr Smedley but felt he had acted in self-defence. He said: 'There is a history to this, and Noah and I did not get on. He has, in the past, made numerous threats to me and made disparaging comments. He has threatened me with violence. 'I was petrified that he was about to lunge at me. In that split second, I instinctively lashed out with the knife I had, in self-defence.' Detective Constable Emma Barnes-Marriott, of Derbyshire Police, said: 'Noah was an unarmed teenager, who was simply meeting with friends on the night Charles Hartle decided to end his life. 'Noah did not threaten Hartle and showed nothing but friendliness towards him that evening, and yet he was brutally murdered. 'Charles Hartle is a callous and calculating young man, who has shown no recognition or remorse for taking another teenager's life. 'He carried a knife with the intention to use it, over what appears to be a petty disagreement that only he was aware of, and a sense of bravado. 'I'd like to thank Noah's family for their support during our investigation and the trial. 'No family should have to go through the ordeal of losing a loved one, especially at such a young age, and to have to relive their last moments at trial is an additional blow that Hartle could have spared them from. 'Instead, despite overwhelming evidence, he remained silent and refused to take responsibility for Noah's murder. 'I know that nothing will bring Noah back but hope that today's verdict has provided his family with some comfort that justice has been done.' Hartle will be sentenced at Derby Crown Court on August 22.
CBS News
an hour ago
- CBS News
Man killed in shooting in south Minneapolis Friday morning
Police in Minneapolis are investigating an early morning shooting Friday that left a man dead. According to police, officers responded to the shooting on Franklin Avenue and Lyndale Avenue South around 2:30 a.m. They found a man in his 30s suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to the hospital, where he died. Investigators believe that he was speaking to a man in a car who got out and shot at him. Police say the suspect left the scene before officers arrived. "We as a community cannot accept this violence and tragedy as normal," said Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office will release the victim's name at a later date. No one has been arrested.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Teens detained for machete murder of boy on bus
Two teenagers have been given life sentences for murdering a 14-year-old boy who was attacked with machetes on a bus in south-east London. Aspiring rapper Kelyan Bokassa was fatally stabbed on a route 472 bus in Woolwich, south-east London, on 7 January. He had been sitting on the back seat of the bus on the upper deck when the two youths boarded and attacked him with identical "lengthy machetes" while smiling, the Old Bailey heard. The defendants, now 16, previously pleaded guilty to Kelyan's murder and possessing a knife. They were both sentenced to serve a minimum term of 15 years and 10 months. 'Little chance of survival' In a victim impact statement read in court, Kelyan's mother Marie Bokassa said: "I stand here not just as a mother but as a broken soul whose life changed forever the day my child's life was taken from me by another child." Ms Bokassa added that she had spent her son's 15th birthday at his graveside. "I ask myself what has happened to those two boys that has resulted in that terrible act of violence, and I cannot imagine how can they be so angry," she said. "What they did was horrific and I do not know what has led them to do this, and maybe I will never." Samantha Yelland, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said the teenagers' "violent attack" on Kelyan left him with "little chance of survival". She said the CCTV evidence of the defendants on the bus left them with little choice but to plead guilty, adding: "I hope their sentences provide some degree of comfort to Kelyan's friends and family." The court was told the youths appeared to have been tipped off that Kelyan was on the bus before they boarded. Members of the public sobbed loudly and hid their faces as footage of the attack on Kelyan was shown in court, while the defendants gave no visible reaction in the dock. Prosecutor Deanna Heer KC said Kelyan had boarded the 472 bus just after 14:00 GMT to attend an appointment at the Youth Justice Centre in Woolwich. CCTV footage showed he went to sit on the back seat on the top deck. At the time he had a small kitchen knife in the waistband of his trousers. Ms Heer said the teenager looked around and out of the windows before taking his seat "giving every impression that he was concerned for his safety". The defendants, who cannot be named for legal reasons, boarded the bus 20 minutes later, each armed with identical machetes hidden in their clothes. The pair walked towards Kelyan "with purpose" and without speaking a word to their victim, thrust their machetes at him 27 times while smiling. The attack lasted 14 seconds. Ms Heer said: "Kelyan Bokassa had no time to reach for his own knife, which remained in his trousers, and instead tried in vain to protect himself with his school bag. "There were several other passengers on the top deck who fled in panic when they realised what was happening. They describe hearing intense screaming from the back of the bus and the victim shouting, 'Help. Help. I've been stabbed'." The bus driver activated his emergency alarm just before 14:27 and the defendants fled when the vehicle stopped at Woolwich Ferry. CCTV showed Kelyan stumbled down the aisle to the stairs, where another passenger went to help him. He was heard saying, "take me to my mum's. I want my mum," before his legs buckled as he bled heavily from a wound to the leg. Members of the public flagged down a passing police car and officers found Kelyan had collapsed and his body was limp. Despite attempts to save him, Kelyan died at the scene at 15:23. One of the machetes was discarded in the River Thames, but later recovered. The defendants were arrested on 15 January after a manhunt by Met Police officers and were charged the next day. Kelyan had been in care and had spent time at a children's home in Deal, Kent. Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to Teenagers admit machete murder of boy, 14, on bus 'I've lost my son and I still can't believe it' Teen attacked with machetes on bus home, court told Related internet links HM Courts and Tribunals Service
