The wife and children of the feared leader of the Ecuadorian Los Choneros gang, Adolfo Macias, alias “Fito,” who was on the run and whose escape triggered a serious security crisis, were arrested in Argentina on Friday and deported to Ecuador, authorities said .
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Inda Mariela Peñarrieta, 48, and the couple's children, ages 21, 12 and 4, were arrested in Cordoba (center), Security Minister Patricia Bullrich said at a news conference.
According to her, Aldolfo Macias' family and other members of his “clan” had moved to an upscale neighborhood on January 5, three days before Fito's escape from a prison in Guayaquil (southwest). “We are proud that Argentina is a hostile territory for the establishment of a gang of drug traffickers,” she added.
AFP
The minister did not specify the reason for the arrest and expulsion of Fito's family, but stated that “a decision by the migration authority suspended their temporary stay and enabled their expulsion.”
Argentine police footage shows an air force plane taking off at dawn with the family on board and then landing on a runway in Quito, the capital of Ecuador.
AFP
The Ecuadorian authorities have not yet commented.
According to Ecuadorian news site Primicias, Inda Mariela Peñarrieta went from a nurse to an extremely wealthy businesswoman in six years. In 2020, she was investigated for money laundering, tax fraud and unjust personal enrichment, but was not prosecuted. The public prosecutor's office is checking the impartiality of the three judges responsible for the investigation.
Primicias also claims that between 2013 and 2019, Fito's wife received $2.1 million in bank deposits but only reported $1.7 million to local tax authorities.
According to the same source, Ms. Peñarrieta, her two brothers and two other members of Fito's family were prosecuted for organized crime, criminal conspiracy, murder, weapons possession and theft.
Fito's daughter, Michelle Peñarrieta, whose stage name is “Queen Michelle”, sings a “Narcorroccido” (popular song in honor of drug traffickers) in praise of her father, “El corrido del Leon”, on the YouTube channel and on social networks. Networks of Los Choneros.
Fito, who has become Ecuador's most wanted man, is still on the run. On Friday, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa said it was “possible” that he was in neighboring Colombia and “asked President (Gustavo) Petro to initiate intensive search operations.”
Fito's escape saw several mutinies in Ecuador's prisons and scenes of gang violence on the streets. President Noboa declared Ecuador a “state of war” and dispatched more than 20,000 military personnel to restore order.