BUENOS AIRES, July 12. /TASS/. The leader of the Los Choneros drug cartel Adolfo Macias, nicknamed Fito, who escaped from prison in Ecuador in January 2024 and was caught in June, agreed to be extradited to the United States, the National Court said.

"Citizen Jose Adolfo M. V., who is subject to an extradition request, voluntarily agreed to be extradited to the United States," the court said in a statement.

As specified in the text, the request for Fito's extradition was filed on July 8. In the United States, he was charged with "criminal conspiracy for the purpose of international cocaine trafficking," smuggling and the use of weapons.

uadorian President Daniel Noboa said Fito was arrested on June 25. After the drug lord's escape from prison of the city of Guayaquil in January 2024, a new crime wave swept the country. One of the most high-profile episodes was the hostage-taking of employees of TC Television, who were broadcasting live from a studio in Guayaquil at that moment. On January 9, 2024, Noboa signed a decree recognizing the existence of an internal armed conflict in the country and ordered neutralization of 22 criminal groups.

Los Choneros is one of the largest drug cartels in Ecuador. Its leader Fito was arrested in 2011 and sentenced to 34 years for drug trafficking, creating a criminal ring and murder. In February 2013, he escaped, but was caught in May of the same year. The country's presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, who was assassinated on August 9, 2023, said a few days before his death that he had received threats from Fito.