Argentina has deported the wife and children of fugitive Ecuadorian gang leader Adolfo Macias, declaring the country is not a "den of crime".
Argentine Security Minister Patricia Bullrich said on January 19 that members of the family of Adolfo Macias, nicknamed "Fito", were rounded up in an upscale residential area in Cordoba province. Cordoba official Juan Pablo Quinteros said the family's temporary residency permits had been revoked through a "migration resolution", allowing authorities to "arrest and expel them from the country".
According to Ms. Bullrich, Fito's wife, Inda Mariela Penarrieta, 48, moved to the neighborhood on January 5, a few days before her husband escaped from prison in Guayaquil, Ecuador, with their three children, ages 4 to 21, and other gang members.
After being arrested, they were put on an Argentine air force plane. A few hours later, the plane landed at the airport in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
"Argentina will never be a den of crime," Interior Minister Guillermo Francos declared at a press conference with Ms Bullrich and Mr Quinteros.
The family of gang leader Fito leaves an Argentine air force plane at the airport in Guayaquil, Ecuador on January 19. Photo: AFP
Ecuadorian authorities have not commented on the incident, nor have they said whether any members of Fito's family are wanted.
Guayaquil police chief Victor Herrera warned that gangs could retaliate after the Fito family was deported from Argentina. "The national police are on alert for any negative developments that may occur," he said.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa announced on January 8 that the army would be mobilized to ensure security in prisons and municipalities across the country while the hunt for Fito continued. Noboa said on January 19 that police were searching for Fito everywhere.
He also asked his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro to “conduct an intensive search” in the country. Colombian military commander Helder Giraldo said on January 12 that the military was on high alert.
"We must fight and restore our devastated country," President Noboa declared.
Huyen Le (According to AFP )
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