Reported by Maria Abi-Habib

(Excerpt shared below. To read full report, go to: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/world/americas/ecuador-cocaine-trafficking.html)

The U.S.’s shift in focus from cocaine to fentanyl has helped cocaine traffickers to thrive in Latin America.

Since President Trump took office in 2017 and through the Biden administration, the United States focused on battling fentanyl, leaving room for the resurgence of cocaine traffickers, particularly in Ecuador.

As a result, Ecuador faced an imminent takeover by criminal groups, prompting the United States to increase military assistance for the country. Despite this aid, Ecuador’s government is still struggling to maintain control, leading to an increase in violence and insecurity not seen just a few years ago.

Car bombs terrorize civilians, and gangs frequently clash with military troops. Officials describe a criminal culture so powerful that schoolchildren aspire to join gangs.

The Trump administration has started an aggressive military campaign in the region, targeting boats it says are smuggling drugs, but it’s uncertain whether these actions will have a significant effect on the growing cocaine trade. It’s also unclear whether that is Washington’s goal — instead, some administration officials have said the military buildup is actually aimed at driving Venezuela’s autocratic leader from power.

An alliance of criminal groups has turned Ecuador into a ‘cocaine superhighway.’

Ecuador was historically viewed as a hub of stability in comparison to its neighbors. In 2009, it distanced itself from the United States by closing a U.S. military base. Consequently, the American Embassy shut down its military office and primary State Department drug-fighting efforts in the country.

During Mr. Trump’s first presidency, Mexican cartels surged in power in the country as they began collaborating with Colombian groups and local gangs to traffic cocaine to Europe and the United States. These partnerships have also led to alliances with European mafias, according to officials.

Such alliances have transformed Ecuador into what American officials called a “cocaine superhighway,” with as much as 70 percent of world’s supply flowing through the nation.

“Cocaine came to be seen by many as ‘bad, but not going-to-kill-you bad,’” said Mike Fitzpatrick, the ambassador to Ecuador from 2019 to 2024. He said it is regarded by some as “one step up from marijuana,” in Washington, making it less of a priority.

But in Ecuador and other countries in Latin America, the drug has again become the main driver of terror and violence, killing and maiming civilians as it made its way to buyers mostly in the United States and Europe.