BUENOS AIRES, July 21. /TASS/. Leader of the Los Choneros drug cartel Adolfo Macias nicknamed Fito, who escaped from prison in Ecuador in January 2024 and was caught in June, was extradited to the United States, Ecuavisa TV channel reported. According to it, Macias was taken from prison to the Ecuadorian Air Force base, from where he was picked up by a US Department of Justice plane. In the United States, Fito has been charged with criminal conspiracy for the purpose of international cocaine trafficking, smuggling and the use of weapons. Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa said Fito was arrested on June 25. After the drug lord's escape from the prison of the city of Guayaquil in January 2024, a new crime wave swept the country. One of the most high-profile episodes was the hostage-taking of employees of TC Televisi·n, who were broadcasting live from a studio. On January 9, 2024, Noboa signed a decree recognizing the existence of an internal armed conflict in the country and ordered neutralization of 22 criminal groups. Los Choneros is one of the largest drug cartels in Ecuador. Fito was arrested in 2011 and sentenced to 34 years for drug trafficking, creating a criminal group and murder. In February 2013, he escaped, but was caught in May. Presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, who was killed on August 9, 2023, said a few days before his death that he had received threats from Fito.