A high-ranking member of the Ecuadorean gang "Los Choneros" will be extradited to the United States following a ruling by the country's highest court.
Dario "Topo" Peñafiel is accused of drug crimes and previously served a sentence in Ecuador on charges of kidnapping and criminal conspiracy, CBS News reported. Once extradited, he will face drug trafficking charges as well as weapons charges.
The U.S. Justice Department has been targeting Los Choneros members for months, now offiering in December, $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Francisco Manuel Bermúdez Cagua.
Peñafiel and Cagua were described as the top lieutenants of gang leader José Adolfo Macías Villamar. Villamar, like Peñafiel, is in custody, but Cagua remains at large.
The federal government alleges the men conspired to traffic cocaine into the U.S. They also face weapons charges. "Los Choneros, one of Ecuador's most violent criminal organizations, is linked to the Sinaloa Cartel and controls key cocaine trafficking routes through Ecuador," the reward bulletin stated.
"Cagua regularly participated in the decisions Macías Villamar made related to the organizations' drug and weapons trafficking and served as an intermediary, relaying critical information between Macías Villamar and their associates," the government alleges.
CBS News reported that Macías Villamar was recaptured in June following a jailbreak. Macías Villamar already has been extradited to New York and has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The outlet noted that Peñafiel was in the Amazon when he was arrested and was allegedly overseeing the illegal extraction of minerals in Ecuador.
The extradition is part of broader cooperation between the countries since the election of President Daniel Noboa. U.S. forces have played roles in attacks against alleged cartels.
Noboa has also said he would welcome the presence of U.S. troops to help confront the country's "security crisis," emphasizing that any deployment would not constitute foreign interference but rather cooperation.
"It's not an invasion, it's not an intruder coming to our country," Noboa told Bloomberg earlier this month. "It's actually international collaboration against crime."
During the interview Noboa also said U.S. forces would operate under the direction of Ecuadorian armed forces and could be deployed as early as this year. He pointed to existing U.S. support, including intelligence and tracking technology, as already contributing to a nearly 35% year-over-year drop in violent crime in some areas near the Colombian border during the first quarter of 2026.
He added that his strategy combines force with broader policy goals. "It's not only an iron fist," he said, "it's an iron fist with a heart."
