Over 30 detained in Ecuador-US operation against CJNG cartel
A joint operation between Ecuador and the US dismantled a network linked to the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel with over 30 arrests on the Ecuadorian coast.
Joint operation dismantles CJNG network in Ecuador with over 30 detained
A joint operation between Ecuadorian and US forces resulted in over 30 arrests linked to the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG), announced on Thursday by president Daniel Noboa via his account on X. According to confirmado.net, the action was backed by the DEA and US Southern Command.
"Under the direction of the National Police and with the support of the DEA and Southern Command, we dismantled a structure linked to the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel and detained over 30 people," Noboa wrote.
Interior Minister John Reimberg described the outcome as the dismantling of a "complete drug trafficking structure" with direct links to the CJNG, an organisation originating from Mexico. Reimberg specified that the investigation extended over approximately eight months.
According to the minister, the organisation was engaged in the "collection, intermediation, distribution, transport and marketing of large quantities of drugs coming from Colombia," destined for Central America, the US and Europe via maritime routes from the ports of Guayaquil and Machala.
The operation mobilised over 320 officers from the National Police, together with 50 members of Southern Command and DEA agents. The detentions took place in multiple locations on the country's coast: Guayaquil, Daule and Samborondón, in Guayas province; Ventanas, Babahoyo, Puebloviejo and Vinces, in Los Ríos; and Machala, in El Oro province.
In recent months, Ecuador and the US have intensified joint operations both in the Eastern Pacific and within the country, where eight provinces and three municipalities are under a state of exception due to serious internal disturbance, with curfew in force for four provinces. The Ecuadorian Government justified these measures by the need to reinforce operations against organised criminal groups.
Source: Google News EC — Crime