US forces, Ecuadorian police strike major blow against transnational drug cartels

Ecuadorian security forces, supported by the US Military's Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), executed a series of major joint anti-drug operations targeting the country's dominant criminal syndicates, authorities announced on Wednesday.

The raids, codenamed Operation Factoria and Operation Jerico, targeted operational networks tied to Los Lobos and Los Choneros across six provinces: Guayas, Santo Domingo, El Oro, Los RIos, Manabi, and Esmeraldas.

According to Gen. Pablo Vinicio Davila, commander-in-chief of Ecuador's National Police, 36 simultaneous raids resulted in the arrest of 43 alleged cartel operatives, including two high-value targets identified by the aliases "CC" and "Leon."

Ecuador's Interior Minister John Reimberg confirmed in a social media video that the suspects include two Mexican nationals believed to be pilots for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel tasked with flying cocaine shipments north to Mexico and the US.

During the sweep, joint forces dismantled two clandestine airstrips used for international narcotics transport. Authorities seized a light aircraft, 21 vehicles, nearly 1,000 liters of aviation fuel, 47 mobile devices, communications gear, firearms, ammunition, bulletproof vests, cash, and significant quantities of cocaine and synthetic drugs.

The joint campaign was coordinated directly by the Ecuadorian State Attorney General's Office alongside the DEA and SOUTHCOM.

Gen. Francis Donovan, Commander of SOUTHCOM, praised the preliminary outcomes, describing the raids as "successful" and calling the combined operation a "decisive victory for the region."

The operations mark one of the most significant joint counter-narcotics efforts since President Daniel Noboa's administration opened the door to an expanded US military and law enforcement presence on Ecuadorian territory.

The crackdown follows action by the US government under President Donald Trump to formally designate Los Lobos, Los Choneros, and the Chone Killers as foreign terrorist organizations, a classification that has facilitated broader intelligence sharing and tactical cooperation between Washington and Quito to disrupt cartel supply chains.