FBI Helps Colombia Arrest the Wife and Daughter of ‘Fito,’ the Los Choneros Boss Charged in Brooklyn With Moving Cocaine Through Mexico
Colombian forces, working with the FBI, arrested the wife and daughter of José Adolfo Macías Villamar, alias “Fito,” on Sunday in Sabana de Torres, a town near Bucaramanga. Fito is the leader of Ecuador’s Los Choneros gang, and he was extradited to face drug and weapons charges in New York. Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella announced the arrests, CBS News/AFP reported on Sept. 28, 2026. Ecuador wants both women in a money-laundering case.
Who was arrested
CBS News/AFP identified the two women as Inda Mariela Peñarrieta Tuárez, Fito’s wife, and Michelle Jamileth Macías Peñarrieta, his daughter. De la Espriella said Ecuadorian authorities are investigating them for “using shell companies to launder the organization’s (Los Choneros’) money.” He added that he would “gladly” send them to Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa.
According to Infobae, officers from Colombia’s National Police and Army, the country’s Fiscalía (prosecutor’s office) and FBI agents all took part in the raid on a house in the town, along with Ecuadorian authorities. Ecuador’s El Comercio reported that both women had Interpol red notices. It quoted Interior Minister John Reimberg as saying they would be taken to Ecuador’s La Roca prison.
The money case
El Comercio reported that the case is known in Ecuador as “Blanqueo Fito” (“Fito Laundering”). According to Ecuador’s prosecutors, Peñarrieta and another woman put more than $2 million into the country’s financial system between 2016 and 2023 in transactions that were unusual and never explained. Six people and two companies were convicted in the case in May 2026, the paper said. Neither woman has been convicted, and both are presumed innocent.
The U.S. case and the Mexico link
Fito escaped from an Ecuadorian prison in January 2024 while serving a 34-year sentence. He was recaptured and extradited to the United States in 2025. CBS News reported that he faces seven charges in New York, including drug and weapons trafficking, and has pleaded not guilty.
In April 2025, CBS reported that the Brooklyn indictment accuses Los Choneros of moving multi-ton loads of cocaine “from South America through Central America and Mexico to the United States.” It also says the gang had people buy guns and ammunition in the U.S. and smuggle them into Ecuador. CBS reported that Mexican cartels have formed alliances with the gang. The charges are allegations that have not been proven in court.
Ecuadorian broadcaster Teleamazonas reports on the arrests:
Sources
- CBS News/AFP, “Wife and daughter of powerful Ecuadorian drug lord held in the U.S. are captured in Colombia,” Sept. 28, 2026.
- Infobae, “Con ayuda del FBI, así fue la captura de la esposa y la hija de alias Fito en Colombia,” Sept. 28, 2026.
- El Comercio (Ecuador), “¿Por qué fueron detenidas la esposa y la hija de alias Fito?” Sept. 27, 2026.
- CBS News, “Leader of notorious Ecuador drug gang who vanished from prison cell is indicted in U.S.,” April 2, 2025.
- Photos: Policía Nacional de Colombia and Policía de Ecuador, via Infobae, Sept. 28, 2026. Video: Teleamazonas Ecuador.
Reported Sept. 28, 2026, from the sources above. The Narco Blog has not independently confirmed the details of the operation or the FBI’s role, and has not reviewed the Ecuadorian case file or the U.S. indictment. All accusations are allegations, not court findings.