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The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned one of Ecuador’s most violent gangs, Los Choneros, and its leader, José Adolfo Macías Villamar (also known by the alias “Fito”), under counter-narcotics authorities. OFAC’s action follows a steep rise in violence in Ecuador attributed to the actions of Los Choneros and other drug trafficking gangs in the country.
“Drug trafficking gangs such as Los Choneros, many with ties to powerful drug cartels in Mexico [Sinaloa Cartel], threaten the lives and livelihoods of communities in Ecuador and throughout the region,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. “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.”
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Los Choneros
Los Choneros, one of Ecuador’s most violent criminal organizations, has been involved in drug trafficking in Ecuador since the 1990s and is a key driver of the escalating violence that has plagued Ecuador since 2020. Los Choneros has also been running operations from inside state and federal penitentiaries throughout the country. With support from the Sinaloa Cartel, Los Choneros gained control of key cocaine trafficking routes through Ecuador. In return, Los Choneros allegedly provided security and logistics services to the Sinaloa Cartel.
Macías Villamar, also known by the alias “Fito,” is a founding member of Los Choneros and has been the group’s sole leader since 2020. In 2011, the Government of Ecuador sentenced him to 34 years in prison for crimes that included murder and drug trafficking. In prison, Macías Villamar enjoyed access to cell phones and the internet, which enabled him to continue to direct the activities of Los Choneros and publish external communications, including a music video posted to social media challenging the Ecuadorian government.
Separately, a $5 million reward offer from the U.S. Department of State remains in place for information leading to the arrest or conviction of co-conspirators and masterminds behind the August 2023 assassination of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. The U.S. Department of State issued this reward on September 28, 2023, under the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program.
Sources OFAC