Police officers hold Dario "Topo" Penafiel, an alleged member of the Choneros organized crime group, in place upon his arrival at Aeropolicial after being apprehended in the Amazon, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2025. Cesar Munoz / AP

Ecuador's top court on Wednesday approved the extradition to the United States of a high-ranking lieutenant of the "Los Choneros" gang.

Dario Penafiel, known as "Topo," was arrested in September in Ecuador's Amazon, where he is believed to have been coordinating illegal mineral extraction.

Authorities said Topo had ties to a dissident faction of Colombia's FARC guerillas and was wanted by a New York court.

The extradition was authorized, according to a statement from the Ecuador's federal court, for Penafiel "to be tried for large-scale drug trafficking offenses and the use of firearms."

Penafiel had been imprisoned in Ecuador for kidnapping and criminal conspiracy, and was released after serving a partial sentence. A case against him alleging the murder of a police officer was dismissed.

According to local media, Penafiel met one of Ecuador's most powerful drug lords, Adolfo Macias, alias "Fito," in a prison in Guayaquil, a hub for drug exports. Penafiel became his right-hand man behind bars and went to work for him in illegal gold extraction after he was released.

Macias was recaptured in June in a massive operation launched after his infamous jailbreak and extradited to the United States under President Daniel Noboa's anti-crime crackdown. Last year, Macias was indicted in New York City on charges he imported thousands of pounds of cocaine into the U.S. He pleaded not guilty.

American commandos recently joined Ecuadorian troops in a joint mission aimed at dismantling a suspected criminal hub operated by an alleged narco-terrorist organization along the country's coast.

The operation, dubbed Lanza Marina, focused on a compound believed to serve as a staging ground for high-speed boats linked to Los Choneros, according to two U.S. officials who spoke to CBS News under condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The two U.S. officials said the American forces worked in advisory roles, assisting and accompanying their Ecuadorian counterparts as they moved against the site, part of a broader effort to curb trafficking networks that rely on fast-moving maritime routes.

In early March, the U.S. and Ecuador launched joint military operations against "designated terrorist organizations" in the South American country.

Los Choneros is one of 20 criminal gangs declared terrorist groups by Ecuador.

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