US puts sanctions on Ecuador's Los Choneros gang and its leader

The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Ecuador's Los Choneros gang and its leader, Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar, according to the website of the U.S. Treasury Department.

Macias has been on the run since disappearing from an Ecuadorean prison last month, where he was serving a 34-year sentence for crimes including drug trafficking and murder.