The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions Thursday on an Ecuador-based cocaine trafficking network accused of using commercial fishing vessels to move thousands of kilograms each month toward Mexico, where major cartels allegedly helped smuggle the drugs onward to the United States.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated 15 individuals and entities and identified 10 Ecuador-based fishing vessels as blocked property. U.S. officials said members of the network are affiliated with Los Choneros and Los Lobos, two violent Ecuadorian criminal organizations that the United States has designated as foreign terrorist organizations.

The network operated from the vicinity of Manta, a major port on Ecuador’s Pacific coast, using ostensibly legitimate fishing businesses as cover for an elaborate maritime supply chain.

According to Treasury, fishing vessels secretly rendezvoused at sea with smaller go-fast boats carrying cocaine north through the eastern Pacific. The larger vessels allegedly provided fuel, food and even medical assistance to the drug-laden boats, allowing them to make the long journey toward Central America and Mexico.

Once the cocaine reached Mexico, U.S. officials said, organizations including the Sinaloa Cartel and Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación helped move it toward the United States.

The sanctions offer a glimpse into the increasingly important role Ecuador has assumed in the international cocaine trade. Treasury said South America remains the source of global cocaine production, while the eastern Pacific has become one of the principal corridors for moving drugs north toward the United States.

Ecuador has emerged as a major departure point for cocaine shipments. Mexican criminal organizations remain key customers and distributors, with Mexico the primary destination for drugs leaving the Andean country. U.S. officials estimate that cocaine trafficking generates billions of dollars in annual revenue for the cartels.

The sanctions freeze any property or financial interests belonging to the designated individuals and entities that are in the United States or under the control of U.S. persons. Companies owned 50% or more by sanctioned individuals are generally also blocked, and most transactions involving the sanctioned parties are prohibited without authorization from Treasury.

The Treasury Department said the action is part of an effort to attack multiple parts of cartel networks simultaneously, including their leaders, financial facilitators, front companies and logistical infrastructure. Since the beginning of 2025, Treasury has taken nearly 30 actions against more than 300 individuals and entities as part of that campaign.

Floating supply stations

At the center of the network identified Thursday is Arcasdenoe S.A., an Ecuadorian family fishing business that Treasury says was operated by Alfonso Mero Mero and his sons, Roberth Alfonso Mero Arcentales and Edwar Alexis Mero Arcentales.

Treasury accused the family of using its fishing vessels to help smuggle thousands of kilograms of cocaine from South America to Mexico while providing refueling services for go-fast boats transporting drugs across the eastern Pacific.

The fishing vessels allegedly used government-subsidized fuel to resupply cocaine boats at predetermined locations. In addition to fuel, they provided food and medical assistance to crews, according to Treasury. Edwar Mero Arcentales also allegedly conducted drug-trafficking activities in coordination with Los Choneros.

Other participants handled cocaine on an even larger scale.

Treasury accused Julio Javier Mero Franco of supporting Los Choneros and coordinating the transportation of approximately 30 to 40 tons of cocaine a month from Ecuador to Central America and Mexico.

Milton Edixon Martinez Mendoza allegedly supported both Los Lobos and Los Choneros and coordinated the transportation of thousands of kilograms of cocaine aboard go-fast vessels headed toward Mexico.

Treasury said another trafficker, Jhonny Francisco Vera Laz, operated on behalf of Mero Franco and moved thousands of kilograms of cocaine a month from Ecuador’s coast to Mexico.

Byron Aldino Mero Bermello and Jimmy Leonidas Alarcon Holguin allegedly coordinated refueling operations for cocaine boats. Alarcon Holguin also owns or controls six Ecuadorian companies, five of them involved in marine fishing, according to Treasury.

The Treasury Department also identified 10 fishing vessels — Todos Vuelven, Arca De Noe III, Arca De Noe III Jr, Arca De Noe IV, Arca De Noe V, Conquista, Siempre Mi Arca, Rey De Arca, Costa Marlin and Solo Es Mejor — as part of the network.

The vessels allegedly provided fuel, food and medical services to cocaine-carrying speedboats and helped their crews detect and monitor law enforcement vessels. One of them, Todos Vuelven, was also accused of directly transporting multi-ton quantities of cocaine.

Los Choneros and Los Lobos

The sanctions highlight what U.S. officials describe as a growing convergence between Ecuadorian criminal organizations and Mexico’s powerful drug cartels.

Los Choneros has developed partnerships with the Sinaloa Cartel and other Mexican organizations that have helped it control cocaine routes stretching from South America through Mexico and into the United States, according to Treasury.

Los Lobos emerged as a splinter organization from Los Choneros and has established routes into Mexico through relationships with organizations including Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, Treasury said.

The State Department designated Los Choneros and Los Lobos as foreign terrorist organizations and specially designated global terrorists in September 2025. Los Lobos leader Wilmer Chavarria, known as “Pipo,” was arrested in Spain in November 2025.

The United States has similarly designated Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación as a foreign terrorist organization.

Thursday’s action is part of a broader U.S. campaign targeting cocaine shipments across the eastern Pacific.

The U.S. Coast Guard launched Operation Pacific Viper in August 2025, deploying additional cutters, aircraft and tactical teams to intercept narcotics shipments. As of June, the operation had seized more than 225,000 pounds — approximately 112 tons — of cocaine in the eastern Pacific, according to Treasury.

The investigation behind Thursday’s sanctions involved the Homeland Security Task Force-Tampa and included support from Joint Interagency Task Force-South, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Florida National Guard Counterdrug Program, the U.S. Southern Command, the Office of Naval Intelligence and the Coast Guard.

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