When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Already a subscriber? Log in .

You've reached your limit of one free article.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime .

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Exclusive International news coverage

Ad-free experience NEW

Weekly digital Magazine NEW

9 daily & weekly Newsletters

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Free trial

30-days free access, then $2.90
per month.

Annual Access BEST VALUE

$19.90 per year, save $14.90 compared to monthly billing.save $14.90.

Subscribe to Worldcrunch
Geopolitics

Cocaine In Galápagos? Cartels Use Ecuador As A Logistics Hub

Dinghy headed to a Galapagos island
Dinghy headed to a Galapagos island
Giacomo Tognini

QUITO — Stashes of cocaine kept in boats and dinghies in the remote Galápagos Islands. Dozens of operatives transporting narcotics on rivers across the border into Colombia. Over the past three years, powerful Mexican drug cartels have systematically moved supplies and operations into Ecuador.

According to Quito-based daily El Comercio, at least four Mexican cartels have operated relatively freely in this South American country, sandwiched between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean, for several years, developing it into a regional logistics hub.

A report released this year by the Mexican Interior Ministry shows a vast network of financiers, security operatives, and traffickers employed by Mexican cartels to conduct their business in Ecuador. The Sinaloa Cartel, formerly led by Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, now imprisoned, was the first cartel to establish roots in the country. They were soon followed by the Zetas, Familia Michoacana, and the Gulf cartel, all among the most powerful criminal organizations in Mexico.

We are used as a hub for organizing and moving drug shipments.

Cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine are the most widely trafficked drugs, and security agents have discovered a supply chain that links various points throughout the country. Narcotics are moved in boats from the Galápagos Islands to ports along the coastline, including Guayaquil, the country's largest city, before being moved in barges along Ecuador's many rivers to the border with Colombia. Once across the border, Mexican traffickers rely on their strong links to cartels in Colombia, where the transshipment continues.

Unlike its neighbors, Ecuador is not an important producer of coca leaf, from which cocaine is refined and produced. The country instead acts as a logistics center. "We aren't a cocaine producing country, we are used as a hub for organizing and moving drug shipments," Ecuador's national police chief Ramiro Montilla told El Comercio.

Ecuadorian police and counternarcotics forces have cracked down on the cartels, arresting dozens of operatives and reinforcing controls on key rivers in two provinces. But the authorities say the groups have become more brazen in their operations in recent years. In 2015, seven Mexicans were arrested on a small northern airstrip as they attempted to fly a small plane loaded with half a ton of cocaine to the United States.

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War

Black Sea Survivor: Tale Of A Ukrainian Special Agent Thrown Overboard In Enemy Waters

This is a tale of a Ukrainian special forces operator who wound up surviving 14 hours at sea, staying afloat and dodging Russian air and sea patrols.

Black Sea Survivor: Tale Of A Ukrainian Special Agent Thrown Overboard In Enemy Waters

Looking at the Black Sea in Odessa, Ukraine.

Rustem Khalilov and Roksana Kasumova

KYIV — During a covert operation in the Black Sea, a Ukrainian special agent was thrown overboard and spent the next 14 hours alone at sea, surrounded by enemy forces.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter.

The agent, who uses the call-sign "Conan," agreed to speak to Ukrainska Pravda, to share the details of nearly being lost forever at sea. He also shared some background on how he arrived in the Ukrainian special forces. Having grown up in a village in a rural territory of Ukraine, Conan describes himself as "a simple guy."

He'd worked in law enforcement, personal security and had a job as a fitness trainer when Russia launched its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022. That's when he signed up with the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Main Directorate of Intelligence "Artan" battalion. It was nearly 18 months into his service, when Conan faced the most harrowing experience of the war. Here's his first-hand account:

Keep reading...Show less

The latest