Fito’s Wife and Daughter Captured in Colombia | On the Radar

On September 27, Ecuadorian and Colombian authorities, along with the assistance of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), captured the wife and daughter of José Adolfo Macías Villamar, also known as "Fito" and former leader of Ecuador's Choneros, in Sabana de Torres, Santander, Colombia. The targeted individuals, Inda Mariela Peñarrieta Tuárez and Michelle Jamileth Macías Peñarrieta, were sought in Ecuador for their involvement in a money laundering scheme dubbed "Blanqueo Fito."

Authorities claim Fito's family network sought to establish connections with Colombian criminal organizations to facilitate the movement of arms, drugs, and money. A series of recent captures of members within Fito's inner circle followed his recapture in June 2025 and subsequent extradition to the United States. In May 2026, an Ecuadorian court convicted six individuals from Fito's family circle for asset laundering in the Blanqueo Fito case, including his romantic partner, Verónica Briones.

One of Fito's brothers, Ronald Javier Macías Villamars, alias "Javi," was arrested in a Bogotá apartment in June and subsequently extradited to Ecuador to face the same charges. The weakening of Fito's inner circle has resulted in a leadership vacuum within the Choneros during a period of heightened struggle to maintain influence in Ecuador's increasingly fragmented criminal landscape.