CNN
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With its four-point bathroom, queen-sized bed and mini-fridge, the messy cell of Jose Adolfo Macias, leader of the notorious Los Choneros gang, might have been in a hotel instead of Ecuador's largest prison facility. unknown.
Ecuadorian Army/AFP/Getty Images
Photo released by the Ecuadorian military. Adolfo Macias, aka Fito, leader of the Los Choneros criminal organization, is shown being transported to the maximum security complex The Rock on August 12, 2023.
This is “better than home…” [he] Living like a king,” the soldier exclaims in the second of several videos showing Macias’ room and a private lawn courtyard filled with six pet fighting cocks. The videos shared with CNN were taken by military personnel at La Regional Prison last year.
Another video shot inside Macias' cell shows a colorful mural depicting the gang leader known as “Fito” warning him: “Silver or lead?” The phrase, popularized by Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, could serve as a warning to prison officials, forcing them to make a stark choice: take a bribe or be shot.
Experts say the footage provides further evidence of the stark reality that Ecuador's prison system has become home to criminal groups that amass foot soldiers and expand their influence across the country. In less than a decade, organized crime has turned this relatively peaceful country into one of the most dangerous places in Latin America.
Prison massacres have become more frequent in recent years, leaving hundreds dead, some found mutilated. In recent riots, more than 130 correctional officers and administrative staff were kidnapped at multiple prisons. They were then released.
“Criminal gangs are in control of everything.” [of the prisons] “That's why Fito was able to have everything he wanted in prison: TV, internet, food, alcohol, women,” said Fito, an Ecuadorian security expert who previously advised Ecuador's police and intelligence agencies. Jean-Paul Pinto told CNN.
Experts speculate that the freedom the drug lord enjoyed while incarcerated may have helped him escape from La Regional Prison. The jailbreak grabbed global attention and sparked a storm of violence across the country last month.
Experts say Ecuador began losing control of its prisons about 10 years ago. Graeldis González, an organized crime expert at the International Crisis Group, said a series of oversights by successive Ecuadorian leaders allowed crime to spread throughout the prison system. These oversights included mass prison deportations aimed at dismantling criminal groups, but she said the measures backfired and only helped gangs spread across the country. added.
Mass incarceration policies have helped gangs recruit new members behind bars, while the demobilization of Colombia's powerful guerrilla force, the FARC, in 2017 has cut back on cocaine trafficking from Colombia to Ecuadorian ports. Ecuadorian gangs could fill that void, analysts say.
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With an estimated 30,000 gang members nationwide, many incarcerated criminals are able to exert influence and control over prison guards outside of prison walls. “Threats were used.” [by gang members to make prison staff carry out] “Criminals are demanding illegal acts and if we don't we risk harming our families and loved ones,” said Julio Cesar, former SNAI deputy director-general and deputy reintegration minister under Lenin. Ballesteros said. Moreno.
Ballesteros told CNN that corruption is inevitable because prison guards are underpaid, overworked, and deal with dire conditions due to overcrowding where “there aren't enough guards for the number of prisoners.” He said it would happen.
Chronic overcrowding in Ecuador's prisons is fueling violence. Inmates have previously told CNN that people had to sleep in hallways without mattresses, and the prison's capacity last year was between 3,250 and 4,150, according to SNAI data.
Ballesteros added that organized crime groups had “complete control of everything” inside the prison. “They turned a blind eye because prisons were no longer controlled by the state and criminals had taken over from within, exposing many prison staff and even top executives to either blackmail or intimidation. and condoned illegal acts.”
As an example, an investigation last year by Ecuador's Attorney General Diana Salazar revealed a scheme by a prominent incarcerated drug trafficker to pay prison officials up to $3,000 in exchange for bringing pigs to a “Prisoner's Day” party. A plan has been revealed to reward the
“It's like I'm the warden here,” the trafficker boasted in a message to acquaintances outside the prison, according to messages shared by Salazar's office.
Experts say this is part of a pattern across the region. Jeremy McDermott, co-founder of the Insight Crime think tank, told CNN: “Latin America's prisons have long been breeding grounds, training centers and headquarters for some of the most powerful criminal organizations in the Americas. ” he said. “So it wouldn’t be surprising to see this replicated in Ecuador.”
Drug ballads and cockfights
Macias is one of Ecuador's most notorious gangsters and is believed to be the only surviving founding member of Los Choneros. He was convicted in 2011 of “a series of crimes, including murder and drug trafficking,” according to think tank Insight Crime, but was released from prison in February 2013 and rearrested a few months later. .
Little is known about his pre-crime life, but the 44-year-old rose to fame as the gang's money laundering expert while incarcerated for more than a decade. Los Choneros and his main rival Los Lobos are believed to be allied with Mexican drug cartels in the fight for supremacy in Ecuador's drug trade. Experts say Los Lobos saw an opportunity amid a bitter power struggle in Los Choneros, which took over as leader in 2020.
Los Choneros' infighting and turf war with Los Lobos that year coincided with an explosion in prison violence and a rise in Ecuador's murder rate, and Macias became a household name in Ecuador.
More than 300 people died in prisons in 2021, some beheaded in a horrific massacre that saw inmates armed with automatic weapons, grenades and more. González said the bloodshed and conflict continues.
Beyond prison walls, economic instability in the country has forced many people to Ecuadorians committed crimes and forced others to flee the country.
La Regional Prison, where Macias was imprisoned before his final escape, is one of five facilities that make up Guayaquil's large prison complex. Guayaquil is a port city, a popular shipping route for cocaine leaving the country, and the site of some of the bloodiest violence between the rivals. gang.
A music video shared online last year shows the Los Choneros leader stroking his cock, apparently inside a Guayaquil prison. The drag ballad, sung by Mariachi Bravo, also features Macias' daughter Michelle. CNN reached out to SNAI to ask how Mariachi Bravo was able to film the infamous prisoner.
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Allegations of corruption have swirled around Macias's luxurious living conditions in prison, particularly over why he was able to remain in a medium-security prison rather than a maximum-security prison.
Announcing U.S. sanctions against Los Choneros and Macias this month, the U.S. Treasury Department said the gang's leaders “continued to direct Los Choneros' operations and communicate outside communications, as they enjoyed access to cell phones and the internet.” We were able to make it public.”
Military officials told CNN that Macias enjoyed cockfighting in prison and that his room had been expanded to the size of two cells. The drug lord also had access to a series of women while in prison, officials said.
It was no secret that Macias lived a life of relative luxury compared to the average prisoner. His 42nd birthday was celebrated with great fanfare, with footage of a fireworks display at the prison and loud music blaring from inside the compound, CNN affiliate Equavisa reported. Images from the event showed the Kingpin posing in front of what appears to be his birthday cake.
In December, Ecuador's newly sworn-in president, Daniel Novoa, joked in an interview with state media that Macias' cell had “more power outlets than a Marriott room.”.Asked what the government's plans are to deal with lawless prisons, Novoa said: “I have a great plan. Don't tell Fito, don't tell Fito yet.”
The government was planning to transfer Macias to a maximum-security prison. However, Macias is believed to have been tipped off in advance and fled in January. Around the same time, his wife and children traveled to the Argentine city of Cordoba, where they moved into a recently purchased home, Argentine officials said.
“Our theory is that there was a plan for some time to buy the house and kick the family out.” [of Ecuador]Argentina's Security Minister Patricia Bullulich said: Argentine officials said the family was expelled two weeks after arriving.
It remains unclear when and how Macias escaped. However, Ecuador's presidential spokesperson believes Los Choneros leaders have been informed of the impending prison transfer.
“Yes, there was a leak, most likely there was a leak,” Roberto Izrieta told Ecuadorian television station Tele Amazonas.
CNN has contacted the country's prisons agency, SNAI, for comment.
News of Macias' escape erupted in violence in Ecuador, and President Noboa declared a state of emergency on January 8. Police and prison officials were taken hostage, explosions were set off in several cities, television studios were attacked by gunmen, and prosecutors launched a gang investigation. was killed, and Fabricio Colon Pico, the alleged leader of his rival Los Lobos gang, escaped from prison along with dozens of other inmates.
Novoa also declared war on gangs backed by foreign cartels, calling them “narco-terrorist groups.” More than 5,000 people have been arrested in an ongoing crackdown in which the military has been called in to support Ecuador's overwhelming police force.
But experts believe such militarization will have a long-term impact on organized crime, while the root causes of Ecuador's violence remain unchanged, including systemic corruption, weak state institutions, and being caught between the world's largest cocaine-producing countries. I have doubts whether it will work as a viable solution.
Today, soldiers are ringing the walls of the Guayaquil prison where Macias escaped. As part of the crackdown, Novoa vowed to build more prisons.
