U.S. troops help Ecuador arrest dozens linked to ruthless cartel
The operation "was conducted jointly with U.S. troops and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)," Ecuador's interior minister said.
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The operation "was conducted jointly with U.S. troops and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)," Ecuador's interior minister said.
The vessel, which was in international waters near Ecuador, was allegedly used as a floating refueling station for drug boats belonging to the Los Choneros organization.
The discovery comes in the midst of a U.S.-backed military crackdown on the organized crime gangs in Ecuador.
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The operation marks the latest joint show of force against drug cartels in the South American country.
U.S. and Ecuadoran forces conducted "lethal kinetic operations" inside Ecuador to combat drug trafficking in the South American country, SOUTHCOM said.
The U.S. military says it has killed six men in a strike on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean as part of the Trump administration's campaign against alleged traffickers.
President Donald Trump says the U.S. and Latin American countries are banding together to combat violent cartels as his administration looks to demonstrate it remains committed to sharpening U.S. foreign policy focus on the Western Hemisphere.
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Guayaquil has become a hotspot for gang violence linked to drug trafficking and several soccer players in Ecuador have been targeted in recent months.
The deaths occurred Sunday at a prison in the coastal city of Machala, Ecuador, after "the detonation of an explosive device" outside, officials said.
Wilmer Chavarriais is believed to be the leader of Los Lobos, a drug trafficking syndicate that was recently designated a terrorist organization by the U.S.
Since 2021, Ecuador has experienced growing criminal violence by gangs operating in coordination with Colombian and Mexican cartels involved in drug trafficking.
Ecuador released a man who survived a U.S. strike on a suspected drug-trafficking vessel after finding no evidence that he had committed a crime, officials said.
Four men and four women had "signs of torture" with their hands tied together and "their heads covered in black bags," according to a police report.
Clashes between drug gangs claimed at least 17 lives at an Ecuadoran prison, with rampaging inmates beheading and maiming rivals, officials said.
Ecuador has seen violence spiral in recent years as enemy gangs with ties to Mexican and Colombian cartels vie for control.
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The announcement targeting Los Lobos and Los Choneros came after a lethal U.S. military strike against a similarly designated gang in Venezuela.
The three Peruvians and two Colombians had been missing since mid-March and were found on May 7 by an Ecuadorian boat called Aldo.
The man is the son of the former Comptroller General of Ecuador.
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Carlos Arturo Landazuri Cortes, a "high-value target," was captured after months of intelligence work, Ecuador's police chief said.
The crime gangs also declared war on the government when Noboa announced a state of emergency following the prison escape on Sunday of one of Ecuador's most powerful narco bosses.
