Los Choneros Gang Boss Fito Escapes Maximum Security Prison, Ecuadorian Official: He Will Be Found

Ecuadorian police stand guard in public. (Wikimedia Commons/akeg)

JAKARTA - Ecuador's senior official confirmed a massive search would be carried out after Los Choneros gang leader Jose suspected that Fito had escaped from prison with maximum security, insisting he would be found and should be arrested, considering how dangerous the drug kingpin was.

Presidential spokesman Roberto Izurieta said Fito was a "criminal with very dangerous characteristics, whose activities have characteristics of terrorism".

"The search continues. He will be found, he must be found," he said, as reported by Al Jazeera on January 9.

Fito was sentenced to 34 years in prison for organized crimes, drug trafficking and murder since 2011.

This is his second escape from prison. In 2013, he escaped from prison before being recaptured three months later.

In an operation involving thousands of security forces, Fito was transferred to maximum security prison in August, following the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio.

A week before his death, anti-kartel candidate Villavicencio said he received threats from Fito.

After the escape of Fito, SNAI prison authorities reported riots in prisons in six of the country's 24 provinces, with guards being held hostage in several prison facilities.

As previously reported, the Government of Ecuador declared a state of emergency and deployment of troops, after the escape of Fito. President Daniel Noboa announced the mobilization of soldiers for 60 days on Ecuadorian roads and prisons to hunt him down.

In addition, President Noboa also said that there would be a curfew from 23.00 p.m. to 23 p.m. local time every day.

According to President Noboa in a video on Instagram, imposing a state of emergency will provide members of the armed forces with "all the political and legal support" they need, to carry out tasks in fighting against what he calls "narcotic terrorists".

Police and fully armed soldiers then entered the prisons of El Oro, Loja, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, Azuay and Pichincha

Ecuador is known to be the leading cocaine exporter from Colombia and Peru. This condition was used by gangs to compete for ties with Mexican and Colombian cartels to obtain ownership.

Gang wars mostly occur in state prisons. At least around 460 inmates have died as a result of this since 2021.

President Noboa himself is in power with promises to eradicate gangs and insecurity.

In his campaign, he proposed establishing a separate justice system for the most serious crimes, militarizing borders with Colombia and Peru, and imprisoning the most violent perpetrators on offshore barges.

Last week, he announced the construction of two new prisons with maximum security similar to that built by El Salvador President Nayib Bukele.