Ecuadorian gang leader's brother Javi arrested in Colombia

On 17 June 2026, Colombian authorities captured Ronald Javier Macías Villamar, known as “Javi”, the brother of Los Choneros leader José Adolfo Macías Villamar (“Fito”). The operation, coordinated between Colombia’s police and Ecuador’s security forces, ended Javi’s flight after he lived in Colombia under a false identity.

Javi is wanted by Ecuadorian judges on organized‑crime and money‑laundering charges and was subject to an Interpol red notice covering 196 countries. Ecuador’s interior minister John Reimberg announced the arrest, saying “El círculo se cierra”. The suspect is slated for extradition to Ecuador, where he will face prosecution for alleged laundering of over US$ 25 million linked to Los Choneros’ drug‑trafficking network, which is also alleged to have ties to Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel.

The capture follows the 2025 extradition of Fito to the United States and is part of President Daniel Noboa’s broader crackdown on the gang, which the Ecuadorian government has designated a terrorist organization. The arrest has heightened diplomatic pressure on Colombia, which Ecuador has accused of allowing the fugitives to cross its border.