Ecuador’s most wanted Narco found cowering under kitchen counter

A criminal who escaped from prison in late 2023 was found in an underground bunker only accessible through a kitchen counter.

45-year-old Jose Adolfo Villamar, known as ‘Fito’, is the suspected leader of Los Choneros, Ecuador’s largest criminal gang.

He’s now facing possible extradition to the US on seven charges issued against him in April this year.

Villamar was convicted of murder and supplying the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel with tonnes of cocaine in 2011.

But he escaped from Guayaquil Regional Prison 18 months ago, and the trail went cold until earlier this month.

In early June, several members of his inner circle, including his brother and relatives of his partner, were arrested for allegedly laundering £17.5 million.

He was found hiding in his hometown of Manta, with the Ecuadorian Army sharing images of its impressive layout on social media.

Interior Minister John Reimberg said soldiers used an excavator to access the bunker during a 10-hour military operation.

President Daniel Noboa called Fito one of the main targets of his war against organised crime in the country, which has one of the highest homicide rates in Latin America.

‘We have done our part to proceed with Fito’s extradition to the United States; we are awaiting their response,’ he said.

The government had issued a £727,730 reward for information leading to the gang leader’s arrest.

Following his recapture, Fito was taken to Ecuador’s maximum-security La Roca prison in Guayaquil to resume his 34-year sentence for drug trafficking, murder, and organised crime, imposed in 2011.

In April, the US government issued seven charges against Fito, including conspiracy to distribute cocaine internationally, use of firearms, and smuggling arms.

The US Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Los Choneros and their leader in February 2024.

Brian E. Nelson, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said: ‘Drug trafficking gangs such as Los Choneros, many with ties to powerful drug cartels in Mexico, threaten the lives and livelihoods of communities in Ecuador and throughout the region.

‘We stand in support of Ecuador in its fight to combat drug trafficking, curb the proliferation of prison gangs and prison violence, and take back its streets.’

The extradition process to the US is ongoing.

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