About 50 US troops helped Ecuadorian authorities arrest more than 30 people linked to Mexico's Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) in early-morning raids on September 24. Ecuador's Interior Minister John Reimberg announced the operation on X, Military.com reported.

Roughly 320 Ecuadorian police officers and 50 uniformed personnel from US Southern Command took part in the raids across the provinces of Guayas, Los Rios and El Oro, including the cities of Guayaquil, Machala and Manta. The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) also supported the operation, and authorities later reported at least 39 people detained, including the alleged leader and financier of the network.

The raids followed an eight-month investigation into a group accused of receiving cocaine from Colombia, storing it and shipping it by sea to Central America, the United States and Europe. The group used ports in Guayaquil and Machala, according to Ecuadorian authorities. Reimberg said those arrested had a direct connection to the CJNG.

The operation marks a deeper American military role in Ecuador's fight against drug cartels as Quito cooperates closely with Washington's crackdown on organised crime across Latin America.