Interpol issues red notice against Adolfo Macías, a dangerous Ecuadorian drug trafficker

Interpol has issued a red notice for the location in 196 countries of Ecuadorian drug trafficker Adolfo Macías, alias “Fito”, one of the most wanted in the Andean country after escaping six months agoEcuadorian police reported Thursday.

The leader of The Chonerosone of Ecuador’s most dangerous criminal organizations, escaped in January from a prison in Guayaquil, 270 kilometers (167 miles) southwest of Quito, where he was serving a 34-year sentence for murder, organized crime and drug trafficking.

In a message posted Thursday night on its account on the social network X, the Ecuadorian police said that the Interpol red notice will allow the location and capture of Macías in 196 countries and “constitutes support for the search for fugitives from justice.”

Due to Macias’ extensive criminal record, which includes crimes of robbery, illicit association, possession of weapons and attack on property, among others, he is on the list of the most wanted in Ecuador. His escape unleashed a unusual wave of violencewhich included the detonation of explosive devices in different cities, fires, riots and the assault on a television channel by armed men while he was broadcasting live.

The government of President Daniel Noboa then declared a state of emergency and the existence of an internal armed conflict, classifying 22 organizations as terrorists and authorizing them to be considered “military targets.” Among these criminal gangs is Los Choneros, led by Macías and which, according to the authorities, is linked to Mexican drug cartels, to which it has provided logistics and security services for international drug trafficking. It is also accused of extortion, murder, robbery, kidnapping and attacks.

The US Treasury Department sanctioned Macias in February and his criminal organization, considering it one of the “most violent gangs in Ecuador” and a threat to the country and the entire region. His assets and interests in U.S. territory are frozen.

According to Interpol on its website, the red notice issued to law enforcement agencies around the world allows for the “provisional arrest” of a person pending extradition.

Since 2021, Ecuador has been immersed in a climate of insecuritywhich in 2023 left a record rate of violent deaths, 40 per 100,000 inhabitants, one of the highest on the continent.

Authorities attribute this to the action of criminal gangs related to drug trafficking. However, they maintain that the rate is decreasing due to the permanent action of law enforcement forces, deployed especially in cities considered hotbeds of violence in the coastal region.

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