US sanctions Ecuador cocaine network linked to Los Choneros, Los Lobos and Mexican cartels

WASHINGTON, August 20, 2026 — The United States imposed sanctions on an Ecuador-based cocaine trafficking network on Thursday, targeting 15 individuals and entities and identifying 10 fishing vessels as blocked property, the State Department said.

The Treasury Department said the network covertly shipped thousands of kilograms of cocaine each month from South America toward Mexico for eventual distribution in the United States. Members of the network are affiliated with Los Choneros and Los Lobos, two Ecuador-based groups designated by the United States as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

Treasury said the network operated under the cover of legitimate fishing businesses near Manta, Ecuador. Fishing vessels allegedly transferred cocaine and provided logistical support to smaller high-speed vessels traveling north through the eastern Pacific. The cocaine was then moved through Mexico by groups including the Sinaloa Cartel and Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, or CJNG.

Among those sanctioned were Alfonso Mero Mero and his sons Roberth Alfonso Mero Arcentales and Edwar Alexis Mero Arcentales, who Treasury said operated a family trafficking network involving fishing company Arcasdenoe SA. Other designated individuals included Julio Javier Mero Franco, Milton Edixon Martinez Mendoza, Jhonny Francisco Vera Laz, Byron Aldino Mero Bermello and Jimmy Leonidas Alarcon Holguin.

The measures were imposed under Executive Order 14059, which targets international illicit drug trafficking, and Executive Order 13224, which targets terrorists and their supporters. Property and interests in property belonging to sanctioned parties that are within US jurisdiction are generally blocked, and US persons are broadly prohibited from conducting transactions involving them.

The action forms part of a wider US campaign against cocaine trafficking through the eastern Pacific. Treasury said the Coast Guard's Operation Pacific Viper had seized more than 225,000 pounds, or about 112 metric tons, of cocaine by June 2026.