U.S. imposes sanctions on Ecuador cocaine network tied to Mexican cartels

Fishermen work along the shore as local fishermen are increasingly being pursued by Ecuadorean gangs to move drugs and for their skills navigating the Pacific waters along Ecuador's coast, which has become a hub for the international smuggling of narcotics over the last half-decade, in Manta, Ecuador, June 4, 2026.

REUTERS/Karen Toro