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Ecuadorian drug lord 'Fito' pleads not guilty after being extradited to New York
Ecuadorian drug lord 'Fito' pleads not guilty after being extradited to New York

The Independent

time21-07-2025

  • The Independent

Ecuadorian drug lord 'Fito' pleads not guilty after being extradited to New York

The head of a violent Ecuadorian gang accused of smuggling cocaine and firearms between South America and the U.S. pleaded not guilty to drug and gun charges Monday in New York. José Adolfo Macías Villamar, whose nickname is 'Fito,' appeared in federal court in Brooklyn a day after Ecuador extradited him to the U.S. A judge ordered him detained until trial and set his next court date for Sept. 19. U.S. prosecutors accuse Macías of leading the vicious Los Choneros gang that used hitmen, bribes and military weapons, including machine guns and grenades. The hitmen, or sicarios, murdered, tortured and kidnapped people in Ecuador as the gang committed violence against law enforcement, politicians, attorneys, prosecutors and civilians, authorities said. Los Choneros also worked with Mexican drug cartels to ship cocaine from Colombian suppliers through Ecuador and Central America to the U.S., and shipped firearms from the U.S. to South America, prosecutors said. 'Macías Villamar poses an extraordinary danger to the community,' U.S. prosecutors wrote in a request that Macías be detained without bail until trial. 'The Court should enter a permanent order of detention, as no condition or combination of conditions can assure the safety of the community or assure Macías Villamar's appearance at trial.' Macías' lawyer, Alexei Schacht, who entered the not guilty pleas on Macías' behalf, did not immediately return phone and email messages Monday. Macías escaped from a prison in Ecuador in January 2024 and wasn't caught until last month, when he was found in an underground bunker at a relative's mansion in the port city of Manta. He was serving a 34-year sentence for drug trafficking, organized crime and murder when he escaped. He also fled from a maximum-security prison in February 2013 but was recaptured a few weeks later. Los Choneros emerged in the 1990s and Macías has been its leader since 2020, authorities said. Macías cultivated a cult status among fellow gang members and the public in his home country. While behind bars in 2023, he released a video addressed to 'the Ecuadorian people' while flanked by armed men. He also threw parties in prison, where he had access to everything from liquor to roosters for cockfighting matches. A federal grand jury in New York City indicted him on seven charges in April and returned an updated indictment in late June. The charges include international cocaine distribution conspiracy, use of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking and straw purchasing of firearms conspiracy. If convicted, he could face 20 years to life in prison. "The defendant and his co-conspirators flooded the United States and other countries with drugs and used extreme measures of violence in their quest for power and control,' Joseph Nocella Jr., U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement.

WeChat denounced by North Carolina official for complicity in US fentanyl crisis
WeChat denounced by North Carolina official for complicity in US fentanyl crisis

South China Morning Post

time27-05-2025

  • Politics
  • South China Morning Post

WeChat denounced by North Carolina official for complicity in US fentanyl crisis

North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson has accused the Chinese social media app WeChat of facilitating cross-border money laundering that helps finance the fentanyl abuse crisis in the US. In a video posted online on Tuesday, Jackson alleged that Mexican drug cartels have been using WeChat to coordinate cash pickups in US cities, arrange currency swaps with Chinese brokers and quietly move drug profits across borders. 'You are now a core part of the business model that is killing thousands of Americans a month,' Jackson said, addressing WeChat directly. He called on the company to detail how it planned to prevent criminal use of its platform. 'This isn't speculation. This is based on real cases, convictions, investigations, public reports.' The state attorney general's comments mark a significant shift in how US officials are framing the threat they claim WeChat poses. Once targeted primarily over concerns of surveillance, censorship and foreign influence, the app is now being accused of enabling criminal enterprises that directly affect American communities. Owned by the Chinese tech giant Tencent, WeChat has more than 1 billion global users, about 19 million in the US. Its encrypted messaging and payment functions have made it especially popular among Chinese-speaking users – and, Jackson alleges, among money launderers.

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