Ecuador’s highest court approved the extradition of Dario Penafiel, also known as “Topo,” a senior lieutenant of the notorious Los Choneros drug cartel, to the United States. Penafiel faces prosecution in New York for large-scale drug trafficking and firearms offenses, marking a significant development in regional efforts to combat transnational crime.
Penafiel was apprehended in September 2025 in Ecuador’s Amazon region, where authorities believe he was involved in coordinating illegal mineral extraction activities. He has known links to a dissident faction of Colombia’s FARC guerrillas and was wanted by U.S. prosecutors.
Previously imprisoned in Ecuador for kidnapping and criminal conspiracy, Penafiel served a partial sentence and was released. Charges related to the murder of a police officer were dropped. He is reported to have met Adolfo Macias, alias “Fito”—one of Ecuador’s most powerful drug lords—while both were incarcerated in Guayaquil, a major hub for drug exports. Penafiel subsequently became Macias’s right-hand man and engaged in illegal gold extraction following his release.
Macias himself was recaptured in June 2025 after a high-profile jailbreak and has also been extradited to the United States amid an intensified crackdown on organized crime under Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa. Macias is charged in New York with importing thousands of pounds of cocaine into the U.S. and has pleaded not guilty.
The U.S. and Ecuador have increased collaboration in confronting drug trafficking organizations, including joint military operations targeting criminal networks. One such operation, termed “Lanza Marina,” involved U.S. commandos advising Ecuadorian forces in raids against a suspected Los Choneros maritime hub used for drug shipments via high-speed boats. This operation is part of broader efforts to dismantle gangs designated as terrorist organizations by Ecuador, among them Los Choneros.
Why it matters
The extradition underscores growing U.S.-Ecuador cooperation against drug trafficking and narco-terrorism, reflecting stepped-up efforts to disrupt criminal networks that fuel drug flows into the United States. Targeting high-level cartel figures like Penafiel and Macias signals a coordinated regional approach to weakening organized crime.
Background
Los Choneros, a major Ecuadorian criminal gang linked to drug trafficking and illegal mining, has been classified as a terrorist organization by the Ecuadorian government. Its activities have included alliances with FARC dissidents and control over key narcotics routes. Ecuador’s intensified anti-crime policies under President Noboa have focused on extraditions and multi-agency operations in coordination with U.S. law enforcement and military advisors to stem cartel influence and drug exports.
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