Ecuador Declares Emergency as Notorious Gang Boss Flees Jail

January 10, 2024

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa announced a 60-day nationwide state of emergency recently after the country’s most wanted crime lord escaped custody amid a spree of riots across prisons. The drastic measures come as authorities scramble to recapture the fugitive leader.

Prison Break Triggers Chaos

Notorious Los Choneros gang chieftain Jose Adolfo Macias, known as “Fito,” broke out of a Guayaquil jail where he was serving a 34-year sentence for offenses like murder and drug trafficking.

The next day, Ecuador’s prison agency confirmed incidents in at least six facilities around the country as violence and disorder erupted in Fito’s wake.

In an apparent retaliation effort, groups of Fito’s associates are believed to have kidnapped three police officers near the coastal city of Machala and a fourth in the capital of Quito.

State of Emergency Declared

Seeking to quickly contain the expanding crisis tied to Fito’s dramatic prison escape, President Noboa moved to invoke extraordinary executive powers by officially declaring a nationwide state of emergency.

The measure enables the military to deploy onto streets and take control of penitentiaries from prison authorities for 60 days. A national daily curfew between 10 pm and 5 am also goes into effect.

Previous Ecuadorian administrations have imposed similar temporary states of emergency in attempts to curb outbreaks of violence and crime.

Vow to Recapture Notorious Criminal

In public remarks, President Noboa asserted that “this is everyone’s fight” and insisted he would not negotiate with terrorists. He vowed security forces would successfully track down and re-arrest the dangerous fugitive Fito.

With Ecuador facing soaring crime rates, the prison break presents an early test of the new president’s law-and-order credentials since taking office in November 2022.

Who is Adolfo Macias?

Jose Adolfo Macias Cervantes, better known as “Fito,” climbed to leadership of Los Choneros, considered Ecuador’s most formidable organized crime outfit, following the prior boss’s assassination.

Fito first entered the prison system over a decade ago to serve a 35-year sentence for offenses like setting up drug processing labs and carrying out gang assassinations.

But even behind bars, his influence continued to direct Los Choneros criminal activities like international narcotics trafficking and murder.

His dramatic escape after over 10 years locked up has positioned him as Ecuador’s most wanted fugitive, with entire military and police forces devoted to the nationwide manhunt.

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