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The Trump administration is offering a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a Los Choneros leader, a gang the State Department designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) in September.
The State Department’s Narcotics Reward Program announced the reward Thursday for Ecuadorian fugitive Francisco Manuel Bermúdez Cagua, also known as “Churron,” as the gang he belongs to is allegedly responsible for trafficking drugs and firearms into the U.S. and carrying out extreme acts of violence.
The 29-year-old is charged with international cocaine distribution conspiracy, international cocaine distribution and using firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking, according to a superseding indictment filed in the Eastern District of New York.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York brought the charges, and the superseding indictment was unsealed in June.
The US is offering a $5M reward for alleged Los Choneros lieutenant Francisco Bermúdez Cagua, accused of cocaine trafficking and violent acts under the FTO-designated gang. (Department of Justice)
“As alleged, Bermúdez Cagua is a top lieutenant within the leadership of Los Choneros, an extremely violent foreign terrorist organization responsible for pumping drugs into the United States, causing harm to our communities, and wreaking havoc in his homeland of Ecuador,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. for the Eastern District of New York said. “The significant reward being offered by the State Department underscores our resolve to bring Los Choneros’s leadership to justice in a U.S. courthouse and eradicate such organizations.”
Co-conspirator José Adolfo Macías Villamar, also known as “Fito,” 46, was extradited to New York in July 2025. The Department of Justice said he is an Ecuadorian citizen who also faces international drug trafficking and firearms charges.
Darío Javier Peñafiel Nieto, also known as “Topo,” 35, is a co-conspirator in the superseding indictment and is currently in custody in Ecuador.
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Ecuadorean police forces carry out a security operation as part of the fight against extortion gangs in a shantytown in the northeast of Guayaquil, Ecuador, April 4, 2024. (Gerardo Menoscal/AFP via Getty Images)
“We will use every tool in our arsenal to stop the brutal criminals who are trafficking deadly drugs into our country,” Chris Landberg of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs said. “We are offering a reward of up to $5 million under the Narcotics Rewards Program for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Bermúdez Cagua.”
The indictment alleges that Los Choneros was one of the most violent transnational criminal organizations operating out of Ecuador.
The group’s network moved multi-ton quantities of cocaine from South America, funneling shipments through Central America, Mexico and the U.S., among other locations, the indictment alleges.
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Soldiers keep watch outside the Zonal 8 prison in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Jan. 11, 2024. (Henry Romero/Reuters)
The co-conspirators are accused of directing and ordering acts of violence to advance the organization’s goals.
The State Department designated Los Choneros as an FTO in September 2025.
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“Bermúdez Cagua is a high-ranking narco-terrorist whose actions have fueled the flow of cocaine into the United States and sown chaos in Ecuador,” U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration administrator Terrance Cole said. “The DEA is resolute in its mission to turn up the pressure and bring this dangerous individual to justice.”
The DEA encourages anyone with information about Bermúdez Cagua’s whereabouts to contact the agency at Ecuadortips@dea.gov or +593-988-292-235, where all information will be kept confidential.
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