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The head of a violent Ecuadorian gang accused of smuggling cocaine and firearms between South America and the U.S. pleaded not guilty to drug and gun charges Monday in New York.

Jos茅 Adolfo Mac铆as Villamar, whose nickname is 鈥淔ito,鈥� appeared in federal court in Brooklyn a day after Ecuador extradited him to the U.S. A judge ordered him detained until trial and set his next court date for Sept. 19.

U.S. prosecutors accuse Mac铆as of leading the vicious Los Choneros gang that used hitmen, bribes and military weapons, including machine guns and grenades. The hitmen, or sicarios, murdered, tortured and kidnapped people in Ecuador as the gang committed violence against law enforcement, politicians, attorneys, prosecutors and civilians, authorities said.

Los Choneros also worked with Mexican drug cartels to ship cocaine from Colombian suppliers through Ecuador and Central America to the U.S., and shipped firearms from the U.S. to South America, prosecutors said.

鈥淢ac铆as Villamar poses an extraordinary danger to the community,鈥� U.S. prosecutors wrote in a request that Mac铆as be detained without bail until trial. 鈥淭he Court should enter a permanent order of detention, as no condition or combination of conditions can assure the safety of the community or assure Mac铆as Villamar鈥檚 appearance at trial.鈥�

Mac铆as’ lawyer, Alexei Schacht, who entered the not guilty pleas on Mac铆as’ behalf, did not immediately return phone and email messages Monday.

Mac铆as escaped from a prison in Ecuador in January 2024 and wasn’t caught until last month, when he was found in an underground bunker at a relative’s mansion in the port city of Manta. He was serving a 34-year sentence for drug trafficking, organized crime and murder when he escaped. He also fled from a maximum-security prison in February 2013 but was recaptured a few weeks later.

Los Choneros emerged in the 1990s and Mac铆as has been its leader since 2020, authorities said.

Mac铆as cultivated a cult status among fellow gang members and the public in his home country. While behind bars in 2023, he released a video addressed to 鈥渢he Ecuadorian people鈥� while flanked by armed men. He also threw parties in prison, where he had access to everything from liquor to roosters for cockfighting matches.

A federal grand jury in New York City indicted him on seven charges in April and returned an updated indictment in late June. The charges include international cocaine distribution conspiracy, use of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking and straw purchasing of firearms conspiracy. If convicted, he could face 20 years to life in prison.

“The defendant and his co-conspirators flooded the United States and other countries with drugs and used extreme measures of violence in their quest for power and control,鈥� Joseph Nocella Jr., U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement.