QUITO (Reuters) -Ecuadorean gang leader Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar, known as "Fito," is set to appear in U.S. federal court on Monday, where he will plead not guilty to international charges of drug and weapons trafficking,

Ecuador has extradited the leader of a violent Ecuadorian gang who relied on hitmen, bribes and military weapons to do business to the United States.

Notorious Ecuadoran drug trafficker Adolfo Macias, alias "Fito," pleaded not guilty to narcotics charges in a US court Monday, a month after he was recaptured following a 2024 escape from a maximum security penitentiary.