Ecuador has declared a state of emergency and authorities have ordered a massive manhunt after it was discovered that a notorious gang leader has vanished from the prison where he was serving his sentence.
The convict, identified as Jose Adolfo Macias, also known as "Fito," was the leader of the Los Choneros gang. Ecuadorian officials reported on Sunday that the individual was not inside his call and he was not found by Monday and no explanation was given for his disappearance.
Ecuador Orders State of Emergency
The country's prosecutors' office posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that it had filed charges against two prison guards as part of an investigation into the matter. They are now considering it as a "prisoner's escape."
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa announced that he had decided to decree a national state of emergency following the gang leader's disappearance. This is a measure that lets authorities suspend people's rights and mobilize the military in places such as prisons.
Noboa, without directly mentioning Fito's disappearance from prison, said on Instagram that he will not stop until he "brings back peace to all Ecuadorians." He also noted that his government has decided to confront crime inside the prisons across the nation, as per the Associated Press.
The emergency declaration will remain in effect for 60 days and such measures were widely used by Noboa's predecessor, Guillermo Lasso. The latter did so as a means to confront the wave of violence that has affected the South American country.
In a statement on Sunday night, police general commander Cesar Zapata said that the notorious gang leader disappeared from his cell and that they are looking into the matter. Prior to his disappearance, Macias was convicted of drug trafficking, murder, and organized crime.
He was serving a 34-year sentence in Ecuador's La Regional prison of the port of Guayaquil and he was scheduled on Sunday to be transferred to a maximum security facility located in the same city.
In August last year, Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was killed following a rally in the country's capital of Quito. He had previously accused Los Choneros and Macias of threatening him and his campaign team a few days before the assassination, according to Fox News.
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Prison Disappearance of Notorious Gang Leader
A few days after the official's murder, Macias was moved out of La Regional to the maximum-security prison in the same large complex of detention facilities in Guayaquil. However, he was later transferred back to the same lighter-security prison in less than a month without any explanation.
During a press conference on Sunday, presidential spokesman Roberto Izurieta said that they were grateful for the courage and commitment of the law enforcement personnel. This was regarding an operation that involved more than 3,000 people who intervened in the prison in the search of the "most-wanted prisoner."
Macias' gang has been linked to extortion, murder, and drug trafficking crimes in the South American nation. Los Choneros has also been accused of controlling some of the nation's prisons.
Ecuador has experienced a nightmarish descent into violence in recent years as successive governments were incapable of reining in organized crime factions. Security analysts said that the Los Choneros gang has links with Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, said The Guardian.
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