After more than a year since his escape from prison in Ecuador, a fugitive drug trafficking criminal wanted by authorities in the Andean country and the United States was captured.

Ecuador’s President, Daniel Noboa, announced on Wednesday that Jose Adolfo Macias, alias ‘Fito’, has been indicted in New York City on charges. He imported thousands of pounds of cocaine into the United States. The leader of the gang called ‘Los Choneros’ in Ecuador was captured in the city of Manta, hometown of the druglord, according to the officials of the country.

Interpol has also issued an arrest warrant for Macias after he mysteriously escaped the prison in 2024 from the Guayaquil Regional Prison. He was serving a 34-year sentence for drug trafficking there. Macias reportedly escaped before his transfer to a maximum-security prison, with no clear response from the authorities on how he succeeded in escaping the containment.

Macias’s Extradition

Now, Macias will be extradited to the US, where he was indicted by a federal court on charges like drug trafficking and firearms smuggling. Earlier, the Ecuador President had offered $1 million for assistance in Macias’s capture and dispatched thousands of police personnel and armed forces to find him.

“My recognition to our police and military who participated in this operation. More will fall. We will cleanse the country—no truce,” said Ecuadorian President Noboa on social media platform, X.