Inda Peñarrieta and Michelle Macías, the wife and daughter of alias Fito, were deported from Colombia to Ecuador on Tuesday night to face criminal prosecution. Their flight from Bogotá was scheduled to arrive at the Aeropolicial base in Guayaquil at around 11:00 p.m. local time, where Interior Minister John Reimberg was expected to be present.
The two women were detained on Sunday, September 27, in the municipality of Sabana de Torres, located in Colombia's Santander department. Their arrest was carried out through a joint operation coordinated between Colombian and Ecuadorian law enforcement authorities, with active participation from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Both Peñarrieta and Macías were subject to Interpol red notices and had active arrest warrants against them in Ecuador. They were kept under the custody of Colombian authorities from the time of their capture until their departure from Bogotá.
Money laundering prosecution
The family members are being prosecuted in Ecuador under the Blanqueo Fito case, an investigation into alleged money laundering related to the family circle of alias Fito. According to the investigation, financial operations registered within the family network form the central subject of the criminal case.
The Attorney General's Office had previously requested that both women be called to trial in Ecuador. However, that stage of the judicial process was officially suspended while they remained fugitives from justice. Prosecutor officials confirmed that following their capture, the legal process will now continue.
Transfer to La Roca prison
Minister Reimberg stated that upon their arrival in Ecuador, both women will be transferred to the La Roca Detention Center in Guayaquil. La Roca is a maximum-security prison facility located in the port city of Guayaquil, which serves as Ecuador's main commercial hub.
José Adolfo Macías Villamar, widely known as alias Fito, is the leader of Los Choneros, one of Ecuador's primary criminal organizations. The deportation of his wife and daughter to face justice in Guayaquil comes two days after their capture in Colombia.
