Money paper trail leads to the arrest of six family members of Ecuador’s most wanted man

Adolfo Macías, alias “Fito,” Ecuador’s most wanted man, continues to run his criminal organization from abroad with the help family members and close associates, according to state prosecutors. Following arrests Tuesday of six family members, prosecutors claim that Fito maintains control of the powerful Los Choneros gang, directing criminal activities, including murders, arms trafficking and money laundering.

Adolfo Macías, alias “Fito” during a 2021 arrest.

Fito, 45, was serving a 34-year sentence when he escaped from a Guayaquil prison in January 2024. Although he is believed to be hiding in Colombia, National Police say he could also be in the U.S. or Venezuela.

In 33 raids in Manabí, Guayas and Pichinchs Provinces, police arrested Fito’s girlfriend, brother, mother-in-law, father-in-law, and two brothers-in-law. Authorities say that 10 more family members and associates, including Fito’s wife, escaped arrest and are on the run.

Citing documents from a U.S. federal court in Brooklyn, New York, chief prosecutor Belén Luna says Fito is carrying out operations in Ecuador, Colombia and the U.S., where he is wanted for drug trafficking, murder, and money laundering. Luna claims Fito oversaw money laundering of more than $6 million since his escape last year and at least $20 million since 2016.

She added that the Attorney General’s office is working closely with the Brooklyn court, saying the U.S. court has compiled an extensive file on Fito. “There are key elements of the case that they have extensive information about, which is important to our investigation,” she said. “We are focusing on money laundering and the movement of cash, since some of this activity produces a paper trail that can followed.”

Interior Minister John Reimberg, who is working with prosecutors, says the estimated amount of laundered money is probably low. “The more we look into his [Fito’s] and Los Choneros’ activities, the more money we believe may be involved,” he says. “The total, over the years, could be much, much more.”

In a news conference following the arrests, Luna said that “following the money” and the activities of those arrested provided the evidence for Tuesday’s apprehensions. Four of the six arrested have made frequent trips to Colombia, the U.S. and Panama since Fito’s escape, she said. “We believe they were carrying out financial transactions that he ordered,” she said, adding that officials in Miami are providing real estate records of purchases in the city possibly connected with Los Choneros.

Luna said the activities of Fito’s girlfriend Verónica Briones and wife, Mariela Peñarrieta, who is still at large, have provided “essential evidence” in the case. “We know that Verónica Briones purchased a house in Manta valued at $300,000 as well as an expensive automobile, and that both purchases were in cash. We have also discovered that Briones and Peñarrieta are listed as owners of several companies that report no income and pay no taxes, despite moving large amounts of money through three banks.”