Four thousand soldiers and police today took part in an operation at the prison where Fito, the leader of his most powerful gang, is being held Equatorialwhom the slain presidential candidate had accused of threatening him, authorities said.
The security forces stormed at dawn, riding in armored vehicles, Guayaquil’s Prison Number 8, where Jose Adolfo Masías, or Fito, leader of the “Los Choneros” gang, has been imprisoned since 2011.
In a photo released by the authorities, Fito appears with his hands on his head.
In another photo, he is seen lying in his underwear on the ground with a dozen other prisoners.
His name has been on the front pages of Ecuadorian newspapers ever since the assassination last Wednesday of Fernando Villavicencio, 59, a centrist presidential candidatewho was coming in second place in the polls for the presidential elections to be held on August 20.
Last week, he said the jailed gang leader, who is serving a 34-year sentence for murder and drug trafficking, had threatened to kill him.
A former journalist and member of parliament, Fernando Villavicencio had investigated the drug trade in Ecuador.
Six Colombians have been arrested in connection with the murder, while a fourth was killed by gunfire from the candidate’s bodyguards.
Drug gangs are strong in Ecuadorian prisons. More than 430 inmates have been killed in clashes between rival gangs inside prisons since 2021. Dozens of them have been dismembered and their bodies burned.
Source: News Beast
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