Ecuadorian Gang Leader, Accused of Threatening Presidential Candidate, Transferred to Maximum Security Prison
In an unprecedented operation, Ecuadorian authorities transferred a powerful gang leader, who was accused of threatening a presidential candidate before he was assassinated, to a maximum security prison. The operation involved around 4,000 heavily armed agents who entered Prison 8 in Guayaquil, where the gang leader, Jose Adolfo Macias, also known as “Fito,” was being held.
Images shared by security forces showed Macias, dressed only in his underwear, with his hands on his head and later lying on the floor with his arms tied. Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso confirmed on social media that Macias had been transferred to La Roca, a maximum security prison that is part of the same penitentiary complex.
Macias, who is the head of the Los Choneros criminal group, had been controlling at least one cellblock in the prison. The transfer comes after the shocking assassination of journalist and anti-corruption crusader Fernando Villavicencio, who had received death threats from Macias.
Villavicencio, who was a presidential candidate, had reported that an “emissary” of Macias had contacted him and threatened him for mentioning Los Choneros. Following Villavicencio’s murder, his party announced that his running mate, Andrea Gonzalez, would take his place in the upcoming election.
The murder of Villavicencio has drawn condemnation from the global community, including the United Nations, United States, and European Union. Pope Francis also expressed his concern about the violence plaguing Ecuador in a message to the Archbishop of Quito.
Ecuador has been under a state of emergency due to the escalating violence in the country’s prisons, which have become centers for drug trafficking. More than 430 inmates have died violently since 2021, many of them dismembered and incinerated in disputes between rival gangs.
The transfer of Macias to a maximum security prison is seen as a significant step in the government’s efforts to combat organized crime and improve security in the country.
