José Macias Villamar

José Adolfo Macías Villamar, also known by the alias Fito, is an Ecuadorian drug lord and the most recent leader of Los Choneros cartel. He assumed leadership in 2020 following the murder of his predecessor Jorge Luis Zambrano. Since then the cartel is accused of turning Ecuador from "a tourist haven to a country with one of the highest murder rates in the region". He had been incarcerated since 2011, having previously escaped prison and lived as a fugitive in 2013. In January 2024, he escaped from prison again, prompting a state of emergency to be called in Ecuador for sixty days and initiating the 2024 conflict in Ecuador. He was captured on 25 June 2025 and was extradited to the United States on 20 July 2025.