Washington — The United States announced a new round of sanctions Thursday targeting 15 Ecuador-based individuals and entities, as well as 10 vessels, over alleged involvement in a maritime cocaine trafficking network.
The Treasury Department said the operation was linked to Ecuadorian criminal groups Los Choneros and Los Lobos, both of which Washington has designated as foreign terrorist organizations. Officials alleged the network relied on a fleet of fishing vessels that appeared legitimate and operated from Manta, Ecuador, to move thousands of kilograms of cocaine each month.
Treasury said the smuggling network supplied cocaine to Mexican cartels, which then distributed the drugs for sale in the United States.
According to the department, the vessels supported smaller “go-fast” boats by providing fuel and supplies as they carried cocaine north through the eastern Pacific toward Mexico. Once there, groups including the Sinaloa cartel and Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación allegedly handled distribution routes into the U.S.
“Working alongside our law enforcement partners, we will continue to disrupt the cartels’ drug trafficking operations and protect our borders,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
Those sanctioned include members of the Mero family, whom Treasury accused of operating the fishing company Arcasdenoe S.A. and arranging fuel, food and medical assistance for cocaine shipments. The department also named several other Ecuadorian nationals accused of helping coordinate tens of tons of cocaine each month and overseeing six additional front companies.
Treasury also identified 10 vessels it said were used to provide logistical cover, evade detection and, in at least one case, directly transport cocaine as part of the alleged scheme.
The sanctions follow the State Department’s September 2025 terrorist designations of Los Choneros and Los Lobos, and add to earlier Treasury measures targeting those groups and Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación.
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Officials tied the announcement to Operation Pacific Viper, a U.S. Coast Guard-led counternarcotics campaign launched in August 2025 that Treasury said has seized more than 225,000 pounds of cocaine in the eastern Pacific through June 2026.
Under the new sanctions, any U.S.-based assets belonging to the designated individuals and entities are frozen, and U.S. persons are generally barred from doing business with them. Treasury’s statement noted that violations can carry civil or criminal penalties, and that foreign financial institutions facilitating transactions for those sanctioned under one of the relevant executive orders could face secondary sanctions.
Treasury said the action reflects coordination among the Homeland Security Task Force, the DEA, U.S. Southern Command, Naval Intelligence and the Coast Guard, and is one of nearly 30 such actions targeting cartel networks since early 2025.
The State Department said the trafficking operations “generate billions of dollars annually for cartels responsible for a significant share of the deadly drugs flowing into our communities.”
“The United States will continue to use all our tools to dismantle the cartels profiting at the expense of American lives,” the department said.
Earlier this year, U.S. commandos participated in a joint mission with Ecuadorian troops aimed at dismantling a suspected criminal hub linked to Los Choneros.
In 2024, the U.S. deemed Los Lobos the largest drug trafficking ring in Ecuador and said the gang “contributes significantly to the violence gripping the country.”
