The brother of 'Fito,' Ecuador's most notorious drug trafficker, is arrested in Colombia
Javier Macías, known by the alias Javi and wanted by Ecuadorian authorities on charges of money laundering and organized crime, was arrested Tuesday in Colombia during a joint operation between the two neighboring countries.
Image of Javier Macías’s arrest
Authorities in Colombia arrested the brother of Adolfo Macias, alias Fito, Ecuador’s top drug trafficker who was extradited to the United States last year, Ecuador’s Interior Minister John Reimberg reported on Tuesday.
Adolfo Fito Macias, the leader of Los Choneros, one of the oldest and most powerful drug cartels in the South American country, was handed over to U.S. authorities in July 2025, almost a month after his recapture following a escape from a maximum-security prison the previous year.
His brother Javier Macías, alias Javi, wanted by Ecuadorian authorities on charges of money laundering and organized crime, was arrested on Tuesday in Colombia during a joint operation between the two neighboring countries, Minister Reimberg stated on social media.
The official reported that the man was living in Colombia “under a false identity” and that an Interpol Red Notice had been issued for him.
Fito, the first Ecuadorian to be extradited
He is on trial in a New York court, facing seven charges, including drug trafficking and arms trafficking, punishable by sentences ranging from 20 years to life in prison. The group he led is considered a “terrorist” organization by the United States and has ties to the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel.
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