Defendant Allegedly Led One of Ecuador’s Most Violent Criminal Organizations
Francisco Manuel Bermúdez Cagua, also known as “Churrón,” will be arraigned in federal court in Brooklyn this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo on a superseding indictment charging him with international cocaine distribution conspiracy, international cocaine distribution, and use of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking. Bermúdez Cagua is a top leader of Los Choneros, a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) based in Ecuador that is responsible for significant drug trafficking into the United States, firearms trafficking from the United States and acts of extreme violence. He was extradited from Ecuador to the Eastern District of New York on October 29, 2026.
Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Terrance C. Cole, Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), John A. Condon, Acting Executive Assistant Director, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Rob Cekada, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Newark Field Division, Atlantic City Satellite Office (ATF), and Jonathan Carson, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Export Enforcement, New York Field Office (OEE) announced the charges.
“The extradition of Bermúdez Cagua, a senior leader of an extremely violent FTO, delivers a decisive blow to Los Choneros’ leadership and its capacity to inflict violence and terror,” stated United States Attorney Joseph Nocella. “His extradition marks the third top-ranking leader of this ruthless transnational criminal organization and designated FTO to be brought to the United States. By bringing this individual to the United States to face justice, we have eliminated a key source of criminal and terrorist influence and reinforced an important message: no matter how high criminal leaders and terrorists rise, we will hold them accountable.”
Mr. Nocella, Jr., praised the outstanding investigative work of DEA’s Andean Region – Quito, Country Office, DEA’s Special Operations Division-Bilateral Investigations Unit and Latin America/Caribbean Section, Joint Interagency Task Force South, U.S. Southern Command, the Government of Ecuador, the New Jersey State Police Casino Gaming Bureau, the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations New York and Atlantic City Field Offices, the United States Marshals Service (USMS). The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs (OIA) also provided significant assistance in securing the extradition.
This marks the eighth extradition from Ecuador to the United States in 2026, which is twice as many as in any previous year.
“The extradition of Francisco Bermúdez-Cagua demonstrates the incredible capabilities of what strong partnerships, like the one between the United States and our Ecuadorian counterparts, can accomplish. Bermúdez-Cagua, a leader in Los Choneros, a violent and ruthless Foreign Terrorist Organization, will now face justice in the U.S.,” stated DEA Administrator Cole. “DEA’s commitment to our mission has never been stronger. The relationship with our international partners has never been stronger. Together, we will continue to bring drug traffickers, wherever they operate in the world, to justice and save lives.”
“Francisco Manuel Bermúdez Cagua allegedly stood at the helm of Los Choneros, a notoriously brutal Foreign Terrorist Organization whose leaders preserved their grip on cocaine-trafficking routes and expanded a far-reaching criminal enterprise using murder, intimidation, corruption, and heavily armed enforcers,” stated HSI Acting Executive Associate Director Condon. “For years, Bermúdez Cagua and Los Choneros allegedly inflicted terror on Ecuadorian communities, targeting law enforcement, elected officials, legal professionals, and civilians without regard for the human cost as they pursued their illicit and vicious objectives. As a co-leader of the Homeland Security Task Force, HSI is driving the coordinated international effort to dismantle cartel networks at their highest levels, and this extradition underscores the extraordinary work of HSI New York and our essential law enforcement partners in mounting a relentless fight against those who enable cartels to inflict death and devastation in the name of greed.”
As alleged in court filings, from at least 2016 to 2025, Bermúdez Cagua—along with co-defendants José Adolfo Macías Villamar, also known as “Fito,” and Darío Javier Peñafiel Nieto, also known as “Topo,” both of whom were previously extradited to the Eastern District of New York—led Los Choneros organization, one of Ecuador’s most violent transnational criminal organizations. Los Choneros controlled key cocaine trafficking routes through Ecuador and operated a vast network responsible for the shipment and distribution of multi-ton quantities of cocaine from South America through Central America and Mexico to the United States and elsewhere. Los Choneros worked with Mexican cartels, including the Sinaloa cartel, to transport cocaine from Colombia through Ecuador and into Mexico.
The leaders of Los Choneros, including Bermúdez Cagua, employed members who carried out numerous acts of violence. Bermúdez Cagua and other leaders directed and ordered these acts of violence to further the goals of the organization. In furtherance of their criminal activities and drug trafficking operations, Los Choneros and their confederates relied on “sicarios,” or hitmen, as well as corruption and bribe payments, to ensure protection and loyalty to Los Choneros. At the direction of Los Choneros’ leaders, including Bermúdez Cagua, Los Choneros committed violent acts towards law enforcement, Ecuadorian politicians, attorneys and prosecutors and civilians.
In or about 2018, Bermúdez Cagua was convicted of murder in Ecuador and sentenced to 40 years’ imprisonment. Bermúdez Cagua subsequently escaped from custody in or about 2024, and he became a fugitive in Ecuador until he was recaptured in July 2026. Before his recapture in Ecuador, on December 11, 2025, the U.S. State Department’s Narcotics Reward Program announced the offering of a reward of up to $5 million dollars for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Bermúdez Cagua. Los Choneros organization has also been sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of U.S. law enforcement towards identifying, investigation, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.
The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, the defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and up to life.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering section.
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