OVERVIEW

The Ecuador-based gang Los Choneros is a major driver of destabilizing violence in Ecuador. Since forming in the 1990s, the group has operated on a franchise model, allowing loosely affiliated gangs to create new fronts using its name. This flexible approach has enabled Los Choneros to continue to pursue a wide range of illicit activities despite the arrest of its leader, Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar, a.k.a. Fito, in June 2025. Los Choneros uses prisons and illegal gold mines as operational bases and cooperates with the Mexico-based Sinaloa Cartel and with Albanian cartels to facilitate drug shipments globally.

OPERATING AREAS
Primarily in Manabi, Ecuador; operates in at least 10 of Ecuador’s provinces and in Colombia and Peru

MEMBERS
Approximately 12,000

TACTICS AND TARGETS
Los Choneros engages in a range of violent and criminal activities, including hired killings; kidnappings; political assassinations; and the smuggling of weapons, explosives, and drugs.

TERRORIST GROUP DESIGNATION
The State Department designated Los Choneros a foreign terrorist organization in September 2025.

KEY LEADERS

NOTABLE ATTACKS