Fito - the singing drug lord whose prison escape has plunged country into chaos
A 60-day state of emergency is underway in Ecuador after the country's most dangerous drug lord vanished from his prison cell.
Since Los Choneros gang leader Adolfo Macías, more commonly known as Fito, was discovered missing from his cell in a low-security prison on Sunday, more attacks across the country have taken place. The scale of the country’s security crisis came into public view yesterday when masked gunmen burst into a TV studio and unleashed 15 minutes of threats and fear on live television.
Horror footage showed a man with a pistol in the middle of the screen, followed by a second man with a shotgun, then a third and more. Screams could be heard followed by the sound of gunshots. They forced terrified reporters and production staff onto the ground, with one woman heard pleading: "Don’t shoot, please don’t shoot!"
The government has said at least 30 attacks have taken place since authorities announced that Fito went missing. It is still not clear if Fito managed to leave the prison compound in the port city or if he may be hiding somewhere inside. Fito had been detained since 2011, but he only became leader of Los Choneros after the murder of former head Jorge Luis Zambrano Gonzálezin 2020. Fito, now age 44, was serving a 34-year sentence for drug trafficking, organised crime, and homicide. A police commander said he could "neither confirm nor deny" an escape, nor could he say for how long the convict had been missing but said hundreds of officers were searching the prison.
Los Choneros is a prison gang that engages in drug trafficking and extortion and many of its members are imprisoned. There are reports the group functions as an operating arm of Mexico’s notorious Sinaloa cartel. Fito has also been linked to a more recent prominent political assassination. In the lead-up to the country’s election last year, candidate Fernando Villavicencio—who was a vocal critic of the powerful drug cartels—was killed in the capital Quito in August. Days before his death, Villavicencio said he and his team had received threats from Fito and Los Choneros.
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Soldiers arrive at the Presidential Palace a day after Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa declared a state of emergency (AFP via Getty Images)Fito often defies the authorities and in a recent taunt, released a "narcocorrido" — a slick music video glorifying his criminal exploits, which was partly recorded inside the jail. The video shows him singing with his daughter, known as Queen Michelle. She says: "I take my hat off to you, Fito, my dad, through his veins good blood flows". The video shows Fito caressing a fighting cockerel and casually chatting with fellow inmates. Fito has escaped from the prison compound before. In 2013, he and 17 other inmates broke free and fled in boats on the River Daule, which borders the compound. He and his brother, a fellow member of Los Choneros, were captured four months later at their mother's home in the city of Manta. Fito has been in prison ever since.
Fito's alleged girlfriend Veronica Briones Zambrano
Veronica Briones Zambrano in a selfie taken from Facebook (Veronica Briones Zambrano/ Facebook)Fito's alleged girlfriend Veronica Briones Zambrano is still posting selfie photos and videos on social media despite the ongoing manhunt for her fugitive partner. Veronica describes herself online as a former odontology [forensic dentistry] student and has also been referred to as a model. She was first identified as Fito’s girlfriend in October 2021 after she spent a week sleeping in his jail cell and was intercepted as she tried to leave the prison in the middle of a riot while wearing a guard’s uniform. It was not clear today whether Veronica had subsequently been prosecuted for breaking into the jail and what the current state of her relationship with the Los Choneros leader is.
The criminals hold up gang signs while taking a number of employees hostage (TC)Fito is understood to be married to a woman called Inda Penarriera, who Ecuadorian media say is a nurse turned "wealthy businesswoman" who has previously been investigated over her finances as part of a probe into her husband’s money laundering activities. Veronica's last Facebook post was on January 6 just before news of Tito's prison escape emerged. Veronica posted a selfie with a child in her arms in front of a Christmas tree on that date, writing: "Christmas, Christmas." Her social media makes no mention of the gang leader and she also has her own TikTok site where she shows off her gym routines and clips of her singing voiceovers.
The unprecedented assault on the TV station in Guayaquil, a port city in Ecuador, came hours after a series of other attacks and police officer abductions. No one was killed in Tuesday's attack and authorities say the 13 attackers were arrested and would be charged with terrorism. President Daniel Noboa, who came into power in November with a promise to bring peace to the South American country, issued a decree saying the plagued country had entered an "internal armed conflict", in what some analysts see as a watershed moment for Ecuador
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