Ecuador has carried out a massive operation targeting an alleged network connected to one of Mexico’s most powerful criminal organizations.

Authorities arrested 39 people allegedly linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) following coordinated raids across several locations, including Guayaquil, Samborondón and Machala.

The operation involved more than 320 Ecuadorian police officers, alongside approximately 50 personnel from the U.S. Southern Command and agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Drugs Moving Through Ecuador

According to authorities, the alleged network received cocaine originating in Colombia before moving it through Ecuador and eventually shipping it from Ecuadorian ports toward Central America, the United States and Europe.

Investigators have linked approximately seven tonnes of cocaine seized during previous operations to the organization.

The case highlights Ecuador’s increasingly important position along international drug-trafficking routes.

Why CJNG’s Presence Matters

The Jalisco New Generation Cartel originated in Mexico but has grown into one of the region’s most powerful criminal organizations, with international trafficking networks extending far beyond the country.

The alleged presence of a CJNG-linked operation inside Ecuador illustrates how increasingly connected organized crime has become across Latin America.

Ecuador has experienced a dramatic increase in violence in recent years as local criminal organizations compete for territory and control of trafficking routes through the country’s ports.

Growing Cooperation With the United States

The participation of U.S. personnel also makes the operation particularly significant.

Ecuador has been expanding security cooperation with the United States as President Daniel Noboa’s government attempts to combat organized crime, drug trafficking and the armed groups responsible for much of the country’s recent violence.

For Ecuador, the latest arrests represent another major operation in a security crisis that has transformed the country over the past several years.

But they also reveal something much bigger: the fight against organized crime in Ecuador is increasingly becoming an international battle involving criminal networks stretching across Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Central America, the United States and Europe.