Ecuador Drug Kingpin Disappears From Cell

Ecuador launched a massive manhunt and declared a state of emergency after the leader of a powerful drug gang vanished from the prison where he was being held Sunday and prison riots broke out across the country. Adolfo Macias Villamar, who the BBC reports was better known as Fito, was being held in a maximum security wing of the prison in the port city of Guayaquil. The drug kingpin, who leads the Los Choneros gang, was convicted in 2011 of drug trafficking, murder, and organized crime, and was sentenced to 34 years—but he's already escaped one other time, in 2013, the Guardian reports. That time, he and his brother, a fellow member of Los Choneros, were found after four months at their mother's house.

After Fito was reported missing from his cell early Sunday and could not be found anywhere in the prison wing, President Daniel Noboa declared a state of emergency late Monday which includes a curfew and a suspension of the right to assembly. Two officials were also arrested on suspicion of aiding in the drug lord's escape. "We will not negotiate with terrorists and we will not rest until we have returned peace to Ecuadorians," Noboa said. Prison guards were being overtaken and held hostage amid the riots. Los Choneros is thought to be behind a surge of violence in the country, including prison riots that have been ongoing in recent months. (More Ecuador stories.)