QUITO, Ecuador (AP) 鈥� The U.S. Treasury on Thursday sanctioned 15 people for their involvement in a network that allegedly shipped thousands of kilograms of cocaine per month from through Mexico, destined for the United States.
The announcement comes as the U.S. has ramped up attacks against fishermen in the Caribbean and the Pacific, , as part of the Trump administration’s push to
鈥淥perating under the guise of legitimate fishing businesses, a fleet of Ecuador-based vessels near Manta, Ecuador, secretly transfers cocaine to small power boats 鈥� known as go-fast vessels 鈥� that transit north through the Eastern Pacific Ocean (EPAC), en route to the United States,鈥� the Treasury Department said.
The members targeted are allegedly part of Los Choneros and Los Lobos, two Ecuadorean gangs previously designated by the U.S. as foreign terrorist organizations. The drugs are then smuggled through Mexico to the U.S. by the Sinaloa Cartel and Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), also designated FTOs.
Ecuador has struggled to contain drug violence since 2021 as rival cartels partner with local gangs and of routes and coastal ports used to smuggle cocaine. The country is wedged between Colombia and Peru, the world鈥檚 top cocaine producing countries.
Last year, Ecuador recorded its highest homicide rate in decades of per every 100,000 residents, according to the Ministry of the Interior.
The country of U.S. President Donald Trump in counter-narcotics operation in the region.
Two U.S. warships with interceptor boats and helicopters will patrol Ecuador鈥檚 territorial waters to support the fight against drug trafficking, Ecuadorean Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo announced Thursday.
The announcement was made on his Instagram account after a meeting the previous day in the port city of Manta with Gen. Francis Donovan, head of U.S. Southern Command. He did not specify when the patrols would begin.
Loffredo noted that 鈥渢his means we will triple our interdiction capabilities in the maritime zone鈥� and added that 鈥渢hree Black Hawk helicopters are in Manta and will be conducting operations.鈥�
The Associated Press asked U.S. Southern Command for details about the collaboration, but did not get an immediate response.
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