On a Sunday morning in early local hours, a brazen targeted attack rocked an upscale residential neighborhood in the Pacific coastal Ecuadorian town of Olón, leaving a top regional leader of the country’s most dangerous criminal syndicate dead. David Macías, 35-year-old brother of infamous Los Choneros drug gang head Adolfo Macías—widely known by his alias “Fito”—was gunned down by assailants who had carefully disguised themselves as uniformed police officers to gain access to his rented home, according to local law enforcement.
Officials confirmed David Macías held a senior regional command position within Los Choneros, the powerful criminal network that was led by his brother Fito until his extradition to the United States one year ago. Fito currently remains in U.S. custody, awaiting trial on a raft of drug trafficking and organized crime charges. The U.S. government has formally designated Los Choneros as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, linking the gang directly to the massive surge in homicide rates that has destabilized Ecuador in recent years.
Witnesses to the attack report the fake police officers gained entry to David Macías’ residence before opening fire, then fled the scene immediately. As of the latest updates, no suspects have been apprehended, and investigators have not yet released formal information on a confirmed motive. Criminal violence analysts note targeted killings of mid-to-senior gang leaders are far from uncommon in Ecuador’s underworld: such attacks are frequently carried out by members of rival drug trafficking organizations, or sometimes by factions within a gang engaged in internal power struggles. This pattern played out just one month prior, when a local gang leader was assassinated by two teenage gunmen outside Guayaquil’s international airport. In that brazen incident, the attackers hid their weapons inside stuffed toys and a floral arrangement to avoid detection by security.
David Macías had a long documented history with Los Choneros: he pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy charges back in 2018. During his time incarcerated, law enforcement records indicate he actively recruited new gang members from the prison population, and ultimately brought the entire correctional facility where he was held under the full control of Los Choneros. The killing of David Macías marks the third major blow to the gang’s upper leadership in less than 12 months. Following Fito’s extradition last year, a second brother, Javier Macías, was captured by authorities just one month ago in neighboring Colombia.
The attack underscores the ongoing wave of organized crime violence that continues to challenge Ecuador’s government and security forces, as criminal syndicates battle for control of key drug trafficking routes connecting South American cocaine producers to consumer markets in North America and Europe.