Overview

• Authorities arrested Macías, known as "Fito," on June 25 in Manta after finding him concealed in a hole beneath a kitchen counter in a residential basement.
• He faces a U.S. extradition request under a seven-count federal indictment accusing him of leading a transnational cocaine trafficking network and smuggling firearms.
• The government had offered a $1 million reward and deployed special police and military units over a year-long manhunt.
• His January 2024 escape from Guayaquil prison sparked widespread violence, including riots, hostage-taking and a siege of a television station.
• Los Choneros is designated a terrorist organization by Ecuador and sanctioned by Washington for its links to the Sinaloa cartel.