Brother of Ecuador’s drug kingpin ‘Fito’ arrested in Colombia

Ecuadorian police, together with Colombian authorities, captured Ronald Javier Macías Villamar, known as ‘Javi’, in Colombia on 16 June 2026. Javi is the brother of Adolfo Masías ‘Fito’, the leader of the Los Choneros criminal organization that dominates drug trafficking in Ecuador. He is wanted in Ecuador for murder, money‑laundering and participation in a criminal gang and was living in Colombia under an alias, with a red‑notice issued by Interpol.

The operation, announced by Ecuador’s interior minister John Reimberg, was a coordinated effort between the National Police, the Armed Forces and the National Intelligence Center of Ecuador and Colombia’s National Police. ‘Fito’ himself was extradited to the United States in July 2025 after a lengthy fugitive period and faces multiple drug‑trafficking and weapons charges in New York. The capture of his brother is described as closing a circle in the fight against the Los Choneros network, which the United States has designated a terrorist organization and is believed to have links with the Mexican Sinaloa cartel.