U.S. troops join anti-drug raids in Ecuador; more than 30 arrested
U.S. troops took part in a joint operation in Ecuador that led to more than 30 arrests, according to Ecuadorian officials. The operation targeted a drug-trafficking network with direct ties to Mexico’s Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
Ecuadorian police carried out the raids early Thursday across three provinces, working with U.S. troops and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Ecuadorian Interior Minister John Reimberg announced. Arrests were made in Guayaquil, Daule, Samborondon, Ventanas, Babahoyo, Puebloviejo, Vinces and Machala.
More than 320 Ecuadorian police officers and 50 personnel from U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) participated in the operation. Reimberg said those detained included leaders and financiers of the trafficking network.
The arrests followed an investigation lasting about eight months into an organization that handled large quantities of drugs from Colombia. The network collected, brokered, distributed, transported and sold the drugs, according to the minister.
The shipments were intended to leave through the ports of Guayaquil and Machala for destinations in Central America, the United States and Europe.
“This organization has no links to local gangs. It had a direct relationship with the CJNG,” Reimberg said, referring to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel by its Spanish initials.
Drug shipments seized over the course of the investigation this year dealt the organization an estimated $322 million financial blow, according to Reimberg. That figure covered earlier seizures, rather than drugs reported seized during Thursday’s raids.
The operation follows Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to Ecuador, Colombia and Peru for talks on security and regional cooperation.
The State Department recently designated the Ecuadorian gang Los Tiguerones as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), accusing it of helping Mexican cartels transport drugs and attacking civilians, police officers and journalists.
The Trump administration had previously designated Los Choneros and Los Lobos, two other Ecuadorian gangs, as terrorist organizations.
Reimberg did not identify those arrested or provide details about the specific roles played by U.S. troops and DEA personnel during the operation.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
