US-backed operation in Ecuador arrests over 30 linked to Mexican cartel

US troops helped Ecuador dismantle a local branch of Mexico's notorious Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), arresting more than 30 members, Ecuador's interior minister said Thursday. Thursday's early-morning operation "was conducted jointly with US troops and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)," Ecuadoran Interior Minister John Reimberg wrote on social media.

Over 30 Ecuadorans were arrested for allegedly belonging to the group with a "direct connection to the CJNG," he said. The minister said the group was involved in trafficking cocaine from Colombia, the world's largest producer, to international markets via ports in southwestern Ecuador.