While in Ecuador There is uncertainty about the whereabouts of alias Fito, the most dangerous criminal in the country, the president Daniel Noboa called an urgent meeting of the Security Council this Sunday, reported the Secretary General of Communication, Roberto Izurieta. “I am on my way to Guayaquil, the president has called an urgent meeting of the Public and State Security Council (COSEPE) this afternoon,” Izurieta wrote on his X account (formerly Twitter).
He announced that “important announcements will be made at night for the safety of all Ecuadorians,” but did not offer more information at a time when questions about the place and situation are increasing. José Adolfo Macías Salazar, alias ‘Fito’.
“Fito“is the ringleader of The Chonerosconsidered by the authorities of Ecuador as one of the largest criminal gangs in the country with alleged ties to Mexican cartels.
Before a police and military operation this Sunday in the prison of Guayaquil where he was held Maciashe National Comprehensive Care Service for Adults Deprived of Liberty and Adolescent Offenders (SNAI) He limited himself to indicating that once it is finished, the results and data of the procedure will be issued.
Members of the Armed Forces participate in a joint security operation with the National Police at the Regional 8 prison in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on January 7, 2024. (Photo by Marcos PIN/AFP).
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But he has not responded to insistent press queries about the situation of alias ‘Fito’.
“Alias Fito escapesthe most dangerous criminal, who was left in prison (all the others have been murdered or given pre-release),” he wrote on his account Jose Serranowho was Minister of the Interior during the Government of Rafael Correa
Without citing sources, Serrano added: “They found the cell or ‘suite’ in which Fito ‘stayed’ impeccably ‘clean’, There was time to ‘pack’ all the criminal’s belongings, including watches, weapons, whiskey, cell phones, laptop… he took everything with him, because he said he was not coming back.”
For her part, Sandra Rueda, reported that, as an assembly member and member of the Sovereignty and Comprehensive Security Commission, she requested the Minister of Government, Mónica Palencia, and the director of the SNAIinform about the location of alias ‘Fito’.
“Transparency, key to guaranteeing security,” he noted in his X account.
:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elcomercio/Y57A3IYJIFEFRHNKMT7EFF4LPU.jpg "Ecuador: uncertainty over the whereabouts of alias Fito, the most dangerous drug trafficker in the country 1")
A soldier participates in a joint security operation between the National Police and the Armed Forces at the Regional 8 prison in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on January 7, 2024. (Photo by Marcos PIN/AFP).
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The Choneros
The Choneros emerged in the 90s in Chone, city in the coastal province of Manabí, and they progressively gained power on drug trafficking routes, particularly in the transit of cocaine from Colombia to be later transported by sea to Central America or North America, according to police reports.
According to the authorities, currently They are dedicated to drug trafficking, extortion, hitmen and arms trafficking, among other crimes, and They are faced with Los Lobos and Los Tiguerones.
The confrontation between criminal gangs has been the reason for the series of prison massacres that have been recorded in Ecuador since 2020, with a balance so far of more than 400 prisoners murdered.
Violence has also moved to the streets with murders and attacks that have caused Ecuador to go from 5.8 to 25.32 intentional homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in five years, the highest figure since records have been recorded in the country. and according to experts, that rate could even reach 40 by the end of 2023.
