Colombia captures Ecuador’s Drug lord “Javi”
Colombia also captured “Fede” of “Los Choneros” in Medellin!
Bogotá, Jun 17 (EFE).-
Colombia’s Minister of Defense, Pedro Sánchez confirmed on Wednesday the capture of Ronald Javier Macías Villamar, alias ‘Javi’, considered one of the top leaders of the Ecuadorian criminal organization ‘Los Choneros.’ ‘Javi’ is brother of José Adolfo Macías Villamar, alias ‘Fito’, the group’s supreme leader.
“Last night we captured ‘Javi’, a dangerous criminal, successor and brother of ‘Fito’, who was attempting to hide here to continue his criminal activities,” Sánchez stated during a press conference in Bogotá, describing the arrest as a new blow against transnational organized crime networks.
The minister also recalled that in October, Colombian authorities captured ‘Fede’ in Medellin, another member of ‘Los Choneros’ who had escaped from an Ecuadorian prison and for whom there was a reward of up to one million dollars.
According to Sánchez Suárez, the capture of ‘Javi’ was made possible through cooperation between the Colombian Police, Ecuadorian authorities, and intelligence agencies from both countries.
“When nations unite, criminals lose,” the official noted, asserting that the reduction in homicides along the shared border demonstrates the results of this coordinated effort.
The minister added that security in the border zone with Ecuador is a priority for Colombia, noting that there are currently 15,000 troops deployed in operations along the 586-kilometer border.
The Ecuadorian Prosecutor’s Office indicated that ‘Javi’ will be extradited to that country, where he is facing charges for alleged money laundering and was wanted under an Interpol red notice.
Ecuadorian authorities maintain that Macías Villamar led the international expansion operations of ‘Los Choneros’ and was residing in Colombia under a false identity.
Furthermore, he is part of an investigation into the alleged laundering of over 25 million dollars, supposedly derived from illicit activities.
The capture comes amidst Ecuador’s efforts to dismantle ‘Los Choneros’, one of the country’s oldest and most powerful criminal organizations, identified by the government of President Daniel Noboa as one of the structures responsible for the escalation of violence affecting the Andean nation. EFE
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