Ecuadorian authorities, backed by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Southern Command, carried out coordinated operations this week targeting Los Lobos and Los Choneros, arresting dozens of suspects and disrupting infrastructure used to move cocaine toward Central America and Mexico.
Ecuadorian police said the raids took place across five provinces and involved about 300 officers and 30 prosecutors. Authorities detained 45 people, including three alleged Los Lobos leaders and two Mexican nationals, and seized roughly a ton of drugs, about $1 million, weapons, vehicles, aviation fuel and a small aircraft.
Police commander Gen. Pablo Dávila told Proceso that the operation dealt a "hard blow" to Los Lobos, which he said worked with Mexico's Jalisco New Generation Cartel, or CJNG, in crimes including drug trafficking, extortion, illegal mining and contract killings.
The DEA confirmed, through a statement, that its personnel in Ecuador worked closely with national police and prosecutors throughout a years-long investigation, while SOUTHCOM provided counternarcotics support. Authorities also disabled two clandestine airstrips believed to have been used for international cocaine trafficking.
"This operation demonstrates what our nations can accomplish through strong, sustained cooperation against narcoterrorism," DEA Administrator Terry Cole said.
Interior Minister John Reimberg said the airstrips were linked to drug shipments bound for Mexico. Ecuadorian authorities say the country functions as a major transit hub for cocaine originating mainly in Colombia and Peru and moving through Pacific and Central American routes toward the United States.
The operation comes as U.S.-Ecuador security cooperation expands beyond law enforcement. Ecuadorian officials said last week that U.S. Army Green Berets were conducting joint operations with local forces in Esmeraldas province, near the Colombian border, while U.S. naval assets have also moved into the eastern Pacific.
That partnership has, however, drawn scrutiny. Amnesty International has called for an investigation into possible U.S. involvement in attacks on Ecuadorian vessels, including the disappearance of the Fiorella and eight crew members earlier this year.
SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Francis Donovan called this week's operations "a decisive victory for the region" and said Ecuador remains at the forefront of the two countries' shared campaign against transnational drug networks.
