US Treasury Sanctions 15 in Ecuador-to-US Cocaine Trafficking Ring

The U.S. Treasury on Thursday imposed sanctions on 15 individuals accused of running a cocaine trafficking network that allegedly shipped thousands of kilograms of the drug monthly from Ecuador through Mexico to the United States.

The Treasury said the operation used Ecuador-based fishing vessels near the port city of Manta as cover. These boats would secretly transfer cocaine to small powerboats, known as go-fast vessels, which then traveled north through the Eastern Pacific Ocean toward the U.S.

The sanctioned individuals are allegedly linked to two Ecuadorian gangs — Los Choneros and Los Lobos — both previously designated by Washington as foreign terrorist organizations. The drugs were then moved through Mexico by the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, also U.S.-designated terrorist groups.

Ecuador has seen a surge in drug-related violence since 2021, as local gangs align with international cartels to control smuggling routes and coastal ports. The country sits between Colombia and Peru, the world's top cocaine producers. Last year, Ecuador recorded its highest homicide rate in decades, with 50 murders per 100,000 residents, according to the Interior Ministry.

President Daniel Noboa's government has become a close partner of the Trump administration in counter-narcotics efforts. On Thursday, Ecuador's Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo announced that two U.S. warships, equipped with interceptor boats and helicopters, would patrol Ecuador's territorial waters. He said this would triple the country's maritime interdiction capacity and noted that three Black Hawk helicopters were already stationed in Manta for operations.

The announcement followed a meeting in Manta with Gen. Francis Donovan, head of U.S. Southern Command. Loffredo did not specify when the patrols would begin. U.S. Southern Command did not immediately respond to requests for details.