Ecuador has launched a massive coordinated crackdown on two of the country’s most powerful criminal organizations, with support from U.S. authorities targeting international cocaine-trafficking networks operating between Ecuador, Mexico and the United States.

On August 26, Ecuadorian police and prosecutors carried out simultaneous operations against structures connected to Los Lobos and Los Choneros, two organizations at the centre of Ecuador’s ongoing battle against organized crime.

The operations resulted in more than 40 arrests, according to updated figures reported by Ecuadorian media.

U.S. Southern Command described the operations as a “decisive victory for the region,” while the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration revealed that one of the investigations had been developing for years.

Major Los Lobos Cocaine Network Targeted

One of the largest operations, known as Operación Factoría, targeted a drug-trafficking organization allegedly connected to Los Lobos.

The DEA says the investigation began in 2022 and focused on a network responsible for moving large quantities of cocaine from Ecuador through Central America and Mexico before reaching the United States.

Authorities say the organization had connections with Mexico’s powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

The trafficking operation was sophisticated.

Investigators allege cocaine was transported from Durán and other areas using vehicles equipped with hidden compartments. Drugs were then moved to clandestine airstrips, where small aircraft could transport shipments north toward Mexico.

During the raids, authorities seized cocaine, synthetic drugs, firearms, vehicles and an aircraft.

Police also discovered and disabled two clandestine airstrips allegedly being used by traffickers.

Two Mexican pilots were among those detained.

Los Choneros Also Targeted

At the same time, Ecuadorian authorities launched Operación Jericó, targeting suspected members of Los Choneros.

That operation alone resulted in 22 arrests, according to Ecuadorian authorities.

The raids were conducted across several provinces, including Guayas, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, El Oro, Los Ríos, Manabí and Esmeraldas.

Together, the operations demonstrate the increasingly coordinated approach Ecuador is taking against organizations accused of transforming the country into one of the region’s major cocaine transit hubs.

U.S. Involvement in Ecuador Is Growing

The crackdown is also significant because of Ecuador’s rapidly expanding security relationship with the United States.

The DEA provided support connected with the investigation into the Los Lobos trafficking network, while U.S. Southern Command publicly praised the Ecuadorian operations.

This cooperation didn’t begin this week.

In March, Ecuadorian and U.S. military forces announced operations against organizations designated by the United States as terrorist groups. Washington designated Los Lobos and Los Choneros as Foreign Terrorist Organizations in 2025.

The U.S. has since increased intelligence, military training and law-enforcement cooperation with Ecuador as both governments target transnational drug-trafficking organizations.

Ecuador’s War Against Organized Crime

Ecuador has experienced a dramatic rise in organized crime and violence as criminal groups compete for control of ports, trafficking corridors and territory.

Its location between Colombia and Peru — two of the world’s largest cocaine-producing countries — and its Pacific ports have made Ecuador strategically important to international trafficking organizations.

Local gangs have increasingly developed relationships with larger foreign criminal organizations, particularly Mexican cartels.

The latest operations show authorities are attempting to attack those networks beyond street-level arrests by targeting aircraft, transportation routes, clandestine airstrips, finances and international connections.

For Ecuador, the August 26 raids represent another major escalation in its fight against organized crime.

For the United States, they also demonstrate something increasingly important: Washington is becoming much more directly involved in Ecuador’s battle against the cartels.