Notorious Ecuadorian drug trafficker Adolfo "Fito" Macias was extradited to the United States on Sunday where he has been indicted on charges of cocaine distribution, conspiracy and firearms violations, including weapons smuggling.

A photograph released by Ecuador's government agency responsible for prisons, the SNAI, showed Macias being guarded by several police officers at an undisclosed location, wearing a t-shirt, shorts, bulletproof vest and helmet.

In a statement to reporters, the SNAI said the 45-year-old was removed from custody at a maximum security prison in Ecuador's southwest "for the purposes that correspond to the extradition process."

He is due to appear before a federal court in Brooklyn, New York, on Monday. His lawyer, Alexei Schacht, told the Associated Press that his client "will plead not guilty." After that, he will be detained in a yet-to-be-determined location, Schacht added.

Ecuador: Fito recaptured after prison escape

Macias' extradition comes one month after he was recaptured following a January 2024 escape from a maximum security penitentiary in the southwestern port city of Guayaquil, where he had been serving a 34-year sentence for drug trafficking, organized crime and murder.

Following his escape, President Daniel Noboa declared Ecuador to be in a state of "internal armed conflict" and ordered the military into the streets in a move that was criticized by human rights organizations.

As part of a large-scale military and police search operation and amid widespread violence, the government produced "wanted" posters offering up to $1 million for information leading to Macias' arrest.

Last month, on June 25, he was found hiding in a bunker concealed under floor tiles in a luxury home in the fishing port of Manta, the home of his notorious "Los Choneros" gang.

"We will gladly send him and let him answer to the North American law," President Noboa told CNN at the time. "The sooner the better."

His extradition marks the first ever time that the Ecuadorian government has extradited one of its citizens to a foreign country.

How Ecuador became a key part of the global cocaine trade

A former taxi driver turned crime boss, Macias has been in charge of "Los Choneros" since 2020.

According to the US indictment, the gang employs people to buy firearms and ammunition in the United States and smuggles them into Ecuador, while cocaine would flow in the opposite direction with the help of Mexican cartels.

Once a peaceful haven between the world's two top cocaine exporters Colombia and Peru, more than 70% of all cocaine produced worldwide now passes through Ecuador's ports, according to government data.

According to the Ecuadorian Organized Crime Observatory, "Los Choneros" maintains ties to Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, Colombia's Gulf Clan — the world's largest cocaine exporter — and various mafia organizations in the Balkans.

In 2024, Ecuadorian authorities seized a record 294 tons of drugs, mainly cocaine.

Despite, or perhaps as a result of, his criminal activities, Macias enjoys a cult status among fellow gang members across Ecuador, and even among parts of the public.

Before escaping from prison, he would throw lavish jail parties featuring alcohol and cockfighting matches. In 2023, he even released a video addressed to "the Ecuadorian people" while flanked by armed men.

Edited by: Wesley Dockery