Multinational Operation Seizes 1.36 Tonnes of Cocaine in Eastern Pacific
A multinational anti narcotics operation has resulted in the seizure of 1,360 kilograms of cocaine in the Eastern Pacific and the arrest of two Ecuadorian nationals.
The operation involved the Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF South), the navies of Ecuador, El Salvador and Colombia, as well as the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The mission began after a U.S. Southern Command maritime patrol aircraft detected a suspicious high speed vessel about 226 nautical miles west of Salinas, Ecuador, heading from Manta towards Mexico.
Authorities coordinated a joint pursuit, with the Ecuadorian Navy tracking the vessel at sea while the patrol aircraft monitored its movements from the air. The chase ended when the National Navy of El Salvador intercepted the boat about 947 nautical miles southwest of Bocana El Cordoncillo.
Security operatives recovered 1.36 tonnes of cocaine from the vessel and arrested its two Ecuadorian crew members.
Officials described the operation as a major success in disrupting transnational organised crime, cutting off illicit funding networks, combating narco terrorism and strengthening maritime security through international cooperation.
