Ecuador Emerges As Key Transit Hub in Latin America's Cocaine Trade in Peru

Ecuador is not a major cocaine producer. Instead, its location between Colombia and Peru, combined with ports such as Guayaquil and Posorja on the Pacific Ocean, has turned Ecuador into a crucial transit and export hub connecting South American cocaine production with global markets. A recent US investigation shows how sophisticated these connections have become.

On August 20, the US Treasury sanctioned an Ecuador-based trafficking network accused of moving thousands of kilograms of cocaine each month through the eastern Pacific to Mexico and on to the US. Eight individuals, seven companies and ten vessels were targeted, with alleged connections to Ecuador's Los Choneros and Los Lobos crime groups and Mexico's Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels.