Famous Gang Leader Evades Jail, Declaring Emergency in Ecuador

President Daniel Noboa of Ecuador recently declared a 60-day state of emergency across the entire country following the escape of the nation's most sought criminal kingpin amid a wave of disturbances throughout jails. Authorities are working feverishly to apprehend the leader who is on the run.

Chaos Is Set Off by Prison Break

Famous Los Choneros gang leader Jose Adolfo Macias, also referred to as "Fito," escaped from a Guayaquil prison where he was serving a 34-year sentence for crimes including drug trafficking and murder.

As violence and chaos broke out in Fito's aftermath, Ecuador's jail agency recorded occurrences in at least six prisons around the nation the next day.

Fito's allies are thought to have abducted three police officers close to Machala, a coastal city, and one more in Quito, the capital, as a possible act of vengeance.

Declared a State of Emergency

President Noboa rushed to officially declare a state of emergency across the country in an attempt to assert exceptional administrative powers and contain the rapidly growing crisis associated with Fito's daring prison breakout.

This provision gives the military the ability to move into public spaces and seize custody of prisons from jail officials for a period of sixty days. There's also a daily nationwide curfew that runs from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Similar short states of emergency have been imposed by other Ecuadorian administrations in an effort to stop violent and criminal breakouts.

Promise to Apprehend Notorious Offenders

Declaring that "this is everyone's fight," President Noboa made it clear in public that he would not engage in negotiations with terrorists. He promised that security personnel would find and apprehend the dangerous fugitive Fito.

The jail breach offers an early test of the new president's ability to maintain peace and order since taking office in November 2022, given Ecuador's skyrocketing crime statistics.

Adolfo Macias: who is he?

After the previous boss was assassinated, Jose Adolfo Macias Cervantes, also known as "Fito," rose to the top of Los Choneros, which is thought to be the most powerful organized criminal group in Ecuador.

Fito was sentenced to 35 years in jail for crimes including establishing drug processing labs and carrying out gang assassinations when he was originally brought into the system more than ten years ago.

However, his influence persisted in guiding Los Choneros' illegal actions, such as homicide and worldwide drug trafficking, even after he was put behind bars.