NEW YORK - The head of a violent Ecuadorian gang accused of smuggling cocaine and firearms between South America and the US pleaded not guilty to drug and gun charges on Monday in New York.
José Adolfo Macías Villamar, whose nickname is ‘Fito’, appeared in federal court in Brooklyn a day after Ecuador extradited him to the US. A judge ordered him detained until trial and set his next court date for September 19.
US prosecutors accuse Macías of leading the vicious Los Choneros gang that used hitmen, bribes and military weapons, including machine guns and grenades. The hitmen, or sicarios, murdered, tortured and kidnapped people in Ecuador as the gang committed violence against law enforcement, politicians, attorneys, prosecutors and civilians, authorities said.
Los Choneros also worked with Mexican drug cartels to ship cocaine from Colombian suppliers through Ecuador and Central America to the US, and shipped firearms from the US to South America, prosecutors said.
“Macías Villamar poses an extraordinary danger to the community,” US prosecutors wrote in a request that Macías be detained without bail until trial. “The court should enter a permanent order of detention, as no condition, or combination of conditions, can assure the safety of the community or assure Macías Villamar’s appearance at trial.” (The Gleaner)
