Buenos Aires (Reuters) – On Thursday evening, the wife and children of Jose Adolfo Macias, a fugitive Ecuadorean drug trafficker, were detained in Argentina and then sent back to Ecuador early Friday, according to authorities.
Argentine Security Minister Patricia Bullrich revealed during a press conference on Friday that authorities had detained eight individuals, including some non-relative associates of Macias, who had arrived in Argentina on January 5 and purchased a home in the province of Cordoba in November.
Macias, also known as “Fito,” vanished on January 7 from the Ecuadorean prison where he was serving a 34-year sentence for crimes such as drug trafficking and murder.
Bullrich stated, “Our hypothesis is that Fito’s plan was to buy the house, move the family out, and then escape from prison,” indicating that the family had previously entered Argentina.
As of Friday, the family had returned to Ecuador, Bullrich confirmed, and she had no information or indication that Fito himself was in Argentina.
(Reporting by Lucila Sigal; Editing by David Gregorio)
