Where is Fito? Ecuador’s notorious drug lord who escaped the prison in which he lived like a king
In his prison cell, drug lord Adolfo ‘Fito’ Macias lived like a king. Then one day, he vanished.
A state of emergency in Ecuador was declared after his escape from prison, and the government battled to regain control of the country’s jails from gangs.
President Daniel Noboa has vowed to eradicate violence and restore order, but three months on his forces have yet to recapture Macias, 44, the leader of the notorious Los Choneros gang.
Fito was serving a 34-year sentence for drug trafficking and murder. His escape in January occurred on the day he was scheduled to be moved from La Regional prison to a maximum security facility.
Fito is one of Ecuador’s most wanted criminals. Pic: AP
Despite being behind bars, he was able to continue to direct the activities of Los Choneros. He also enjoyed access to mobile phones and the internet, watched TV and kept pets.
“His prison cell basically resembled a hotel room,” says Annette Idler, a professor of global security at the University of Oxford. “He had access to women who were brought to him,” she adds. “It was a luxury room for him.”
Colourful murals of the gang leader were even daubed across the walls, including one of him flanked by two assault rifles.
Music video glorification
Fito also managed to star in a professionally produced music video, parts of which were filmed inside his prison, exalting the drugs kingpin as “el jefe y patron” – the boss.
There has been no explanation from authorities about how a film crew was able to gain access to one of Ecuador’s most notorious criminals. Meanwhile, El Corrido del Leon – the Lion’s Ballad – has racked up nearly 900,000 views on YouTube.
The watchtower overlooking the Zonal 8 prison, from where Fito escaped. Pic: Reuters
“It was glorifying him as this good and honest guy – how does that happen?”, says John Murdy, a University of Chicago PhD student who has spent years researching Ecuador’s prisons. “Fito is unique.”
This was only possible, Prof Idler says, because of corruption in the Ecuadorian prison system, with prison guards severely outnumbered and under pressure.
The choice between silver and lead
“It’s something that resembles Pablo Escobar – the choice between silver and lead. Either they receive a bribe or they’re just shot.”
Those same words are emblazoned on the prison wall mural of Fito – ‘plata’ (silver) and ‘plomo’ (lead).
Prison guards faced with overcrowded jails and not enough support are vulnerable to this kind of pressure from the gangs, who can find out where their families live, and often end up on their payroll.
A soldier guards inmates at Litoral Penitentiary. Pic: AP
Unable to fully control their prisons, authorities resorted to sorting new inmates by their gang affiliation.
“In effect the Ecuadorian state is giving prison wings over to gangs, which means they are able to consolidate their power and have a base of operations,” Murdy says. They can then collect weapons like machine guns, machetes and bombs, he adds.
Los Choneros, led by Fito, is one of the gangs authorities hold responsible for a spike in violence that reached new highs last year with the assassination of the presidential candidate, Fernando Villavicencio.
Soldiers carry out a search near the prison following Fito’s escape. Pic: Reuters
When Fito escaped La Regional prison on 7 January – his second jailbreak – the news spread around the world.
Roberto Izurieta, press secretary for the president, said “most likely” there was a leak of information that led to Fito’s escape. He said the gang chief was tipped off “a matter of hours” before he disappeared.
Embarrassment for president
“It was a real egg-on-the-face moment for the new president,” says Murdy. “Somehow Fito learned about this very high level security intervention and was able to escape without a gunshot fired.”
But should it have come as such a shock? After all, he was not being held in a high security prison.
Prof Idler adds: “In a way it was not much of a surprise… because we know Fito had lots of control.”
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Sky News gains rare access to a prison in Ecuador
Three months later, Fito is still at large.
“On the one hand, it’s surprising because Ecuador is working with the US and Colombia, who have good intelligence services – this should help in finding him.”
‘Endemic corruption’
But Prof Idler added that the “endemic corruption” in Ecuador means that it may be difficult to track him down.
“It’s not clear where he actually went,” she says. “Given that these criminal organisations operate across borders it’s also quite likely that he is very well protected through his network, not just inside Ecuador but also in the wider region.”
There was speculation that he might head to Argentina, where he had moved his wife and children. But they were deported back to Ecuador a couple of weeks after Fito’s escape.
Was Fito tipped off by someone inside Ecuador’s security apparatus? Pic: Reuters
Amid suspicion that he might instead seek to pass through Peru to reach Bolivia, the Peruvian government strengthened security along its border.
Prof Idler adds: “The authorities’ eyes are on him, but it’s definitely plausible that he’s still somewhere in the region hiding.”
It remains to be seen when, or if, Fito will be hunted down. And even if he’s recaptured and put back in prison, what then? Fito has already escaped prison twice, could he do it again?
Countries in South and Southeast Asia have been coping with a weeks-long heatwave which has seen record temperatures sweep parts of the region.
Pupils in the Philippines, India and Bangladesh have been told to stay at home and learn remotely due to a severe health risk.
Schools in Cambodia have also cut back on their hours.
Cambodia faces its hottest temperature in 170 years, according to meteorologists – as high as 43C (109F).
Bangkok in Thailand has reached 40C (104 F), but the heat index is said to have topped 50 C (122 F) due to the heat being trapped among the mass of buildings.
The United Nations Children’s Fund warned in April that the heat could put the lives of millions of children at risk and asked people who care for them to take extra precautions.
A spokesperson for UNICEF said around 243 million children were exposed to hotter and longer heatwaves.
A woman drinks from a public tap in India. Pic: AP
They said the increased heat was “putting them at risk of a multitude of heat-related illnesses, and even death”.
Thirty people in Thailand have died from heatstroke in the past month, according to data from the country’s health ministry.
People are being advised to avoid outdoor activities and to stay hydrated.
Several towns in Myanmar were included on lists of the hottest spots globally last month, with temperatures reaching 48.2C (118F) in at least one case.
People stock up on water in India. Pic: AP
Parts of eastern India also experienced their hottest April on record.
Kerala, on India’s west coast, this week instructed all schools and colleges to close until Monday, while influencers in Bangladesh have encouraging people to plant trees in response to the record heat.
Benjamin Horton, director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore, said there were three factors for heatwaves: a naturally-occurring climate phenomenon known as El Nino, an increase in global temperatures, and human-induced climate change.
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Brazil is currently experiencing another climate phenomenon – La Nina – with 39 dead and 68 missing in floods across the country.
More than 24,000 people have been forced to leave their homes due to the flooding.
Scientists believe the naturally-occurring phenomenon has intensified due to the impact of climate change.
China has been branded “a bully” and an international lawbreaker after its ships blasted Philippine vessels with water cannon in the South China Sea.
Sky News was on board the BRP Bagacay when a Chinese vessel fired water at it, causing significant damage.
Philippine coastguard spokesman Jay Tarriela told Sky News that this week’s confrontation was the first time China had used “such aggression” against their ships.
“The metal parts and the railing were bent. The canopy was also destroyed. So this came as a surprise for us that China never hesitated to use brute force,” he said.
“It completely justifies us calling The People’s Republic of China a bully country.”
Jay Tarriela, a spokesman for the Philippine Coastguard, told Sky News that China is a ‘bully’
The Philippine coastguard was on a resupply mission to the Scarborough Shoal to deliver food and fuel to Philippine fishermen when they were struck.
The submerged reef lies in disputed waters. China claims sovereignty over the reef but it is much closer to the Philippines and lies within its legally recognised exclusive economic zone.
The vessel Sky News was on board was the closest the coastguard had ever been to the shoal – just 600 metres away from it.
Asked if the mission to the shoal was a provocative move by the Philippine coastguard, Commodore Tarriela denied they were “poking the bear” but rather “driving the bear out of our own territory”.
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Sky witnesses China-Philippine confrontation
The Philippines has been stepping up its patrols in the area under the instruction of President Bongbong Marcos, and reasserting its claim to the shoal in recent months.
It has raised the spectre of open conflict. While neither side currently wants that, there is now a greater threat of open conflict.
Asked what the end game was for the Philippines, Commodore Tarriela said their priority was to “tell the world” about China’s aggression.
China’s coastguard fired water at Philippine coastguard vessel BRP Bagacay while Sky was onboard
He said their secondary goal was to ensure “like-minded states” also made China “fall in line and respect international law”.
“Otherwise, it’s everybody’s loss,” he added.
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Philippine government policy is not to resist using water cannon against Chinese vessels – and Commodore Tarriela insisted that policy remains in place after the confrontation.
The government also remains intensely determined to protect the waters it believes it has every right to operate in.
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“We’re not going to yield and we’re not going to surrender a square inch of our territory,” Commodore Tarriela insisted.
Beijing has called the action its own coastguard took as “necessary”.
Speaking at the Chinese foreign ministry’s daily news conference, spokesperson Lin Jian described the coastguard’s conduct as “professional, proper, and lawful”.
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