1 of 1 Image of José Adolfo Macías Villamar, known as Fito Photo: Reproduction/@ffaaecuador Image of José Adolfo Macías Villamar, known as Fito Photo: Reproduction/@ffaaecuador
The Ecuadorian Ministry of State announced on Sunday evening (7) that one of the country's main criminals, José Adolfo Macías Villamar, known as Fito, was not found in the prison where he should have served his sentence.
Fito, 44 years old, is one of the leaders of the Los Choneros group and is considered one of Ecuador's most dangerous criminals.
According to an article in El País, police commander César Zapata said authorities learned of Fito's “nonattendance” at the Guayaquil city prison where he was serving his sentence.
Police and the army called in more than 3,000 men to try to find Fito, but as of now his whereabouts are unknown.
Los Choneros began their activities as a group of hired killers. They expanded their activities and also started drug trafficking and robberies. In Ecuador, the Choneros are considered to be the first to join a foreign group in this case the Sinaloa Cartel from Mexico.
According to the newspaper “El Universo”, Fito has been serving a 34year prison sentence since 2011 (he has already served 12 years in prison). He is accused of the following crimes:
- Theft,
- Join a criminal organization,
- possession of weapons,
- Murder.
He was first arrested for robbery in 2000. Fito took control of Los Choneros after the death of the previous boss, José Luis Zambrano, known as Raquiña.
Taken in prison cell
On Sunday morning there was a police operation at the Guayaquil penitentiary where Fito was serving his sentence. The aim was to find weapons and sockets in the cells.
In December, the country's president, Daniel Noboa, gave an interview in which he stated that the cell of the leader of a criminal group should not have electrical outlets and that Fito, according to the statement, had four electrical outlets in his room, more than in a presidential hotel room .
Video clip of a story
In some Latin American countries there is a style of music called “narcocorrido”. As in the case of “proibidões” in Brazil, the lyrics generally praise criminals.
There was an uproar in Ecuador after Fito appeared in a music video for a Narcocorrido song. Some parts of the video were recorded in prison.
The music in the video is a duet between Mariachi Bravo and singer Queen Michelle, Fito's daughter.