Ecuador drug lord Fito captured in luxury mansion with underground bunker

In a dramatic twist straight out of a crime thriller, one of South America's most notorious drug lords, who had slipped through the bars of prison, was nabbed after his subterranean lair was discovered beneath a swanky coastal estate.

Ecuador's own Adolfo Macías Villamar, infamously dubbed "Fito" across Latin America, was snatched up by authorities in the wee hours of Wednesday, drawing the curtain on a suspenseful manhunt that had Ecuador on their toes.

The kingpin of the feared Los Choneros gang was unearthed from an underground bunker under a posh three-story residence in the Monterrey area.

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The sting operation, a tag-team effort by Ecuadorian police and military forces, spanned over 10 hours and concluded without a single shot fired. Fito was apprehended peacefully. Police revealed that the mansion had been under their watchful eye before they swooped in for the capture.

Upon entry, officers stumbled upon a secret trap door camouflaged within the stone flooring. A staircase descended into a well-fitted bunker complete with air conditioning, a bed, a fan, and even a fridge.

Above ground, the house boasted a personal gym and an entertainment room. The 45-year-old escapee was then airlifted, surrounded by armed guards, to Guayaquil, and subsequently locked away in the high-security La Roca penitentiary, home to Ecuador's most hardened felons.

President Daniel Noboa lauded the successful raid and confirmed that Fito is slated for extradition to the United States, where he's wanted on charges related to cocaine trafficking. "More [drug lords] will fall," Noboa pledged. "We will regain [control of] the country."

The capture of Fito marks a significant win for Ecuador's government, currently grappling with surging violence fueled by formidable criminal syndicates.

In a brazen January 2024 jailbreak from La Regional prison in Guayaquil, Fito's escape sparked a national security crisis and ignited prison riots that saw guards taken hostage. The ensuing chaos led Noboa to assert a state of emergency and roll out extensive security measures.

At the juncture of his flight, Fito was behind bars on a 34-year term for murder and drug trafficking; even from his cell, he orchestrated operations for Los Choneros, notorious for drug smuggling, racketeering, and targeted killings.

Authorities have connected him to the 2023 assassination of presidential hopeful Fernando Villavicencio, an act that reverberated across Ecuador and beyond.

Fito's command saw Los Choneros creating tight bonds with the formidable Sinaloa cartel of Mexico, headed by the infamous El Chapo.

This perilous alliance is accused of transplanting the grisly strategies emblematic of Mexico's narco-conflict—counting beheadings and mutilations—into the gang scene of Ecuador.

The arrest of Fito, after months of intensifying political heat on President Noboa, marks a sharp turn in the leader's crackdown on organized crime—a promise he made upon his ascent to office in late 2023. In an aggressive counter to the earlier prison turmoil, Noboa's administration enacted laws bestowing expanded powers upon police forces, sanctioning warrantless searches and the ability to declare an "internal armed conflict" against criminal gangs.

While nabbing Fito stands as a coup for President Noboa's regime, security analysts caution that Los Choneros gang continues its rampant activity and dismantling Ecuador's criminal underworld is far from over.