The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday imposed sanctions on 15 people accused of participating in a major drug-trafficking network that allegedly moves thousands of kilograms of cocaine each month from Ecuador through Mexico and ultimately into the United States.

According to the Treasury Department, the network uses legitimate-looking fishing businesses as cover for smuggling operations. Ecuador-based vessels operating near the coastal city of Manta allegedly transfer cocaine to high-speed “go-fast” boats, which then travel north through the eastern Pacific.

U.S. authorities said those targeted are linked to Los Choneros and Los Lobos, two powerful Ecuadorian criminal organizations that Washington has designated as foreign terrorist organizations.

The cocaine is allegedly transported through Mexico and into the United States with the involvement of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, or CJNG, which have also been designated as foreign terrorist organizations by Washington.

The sanctions come as the Trump administration expands counter-narcotics operations across Latin America and increases U.S. military involvement in efforts to disrupt maritime drug-trafficking routes.

Ecuador has faced escalating drug-related violence since 2021 as international cartels increasingly partner with local gangs and compete for control of ports and trafficking corridors. Its location between Colombia and Peru, two of the world’s leading cocaine-producing countries, has made Ecuador an important transit point for international drug networks.

Last year, Ecuador recorded about 50 homicides per 100,000 residents, its highest murder rate in decades, according to the country’s Interior Ministry.

President Daniel Noboa’s government has strengthened security cooperation with the Trump administration as both countries intensify efforts against organized crime and narcotics trafficking.

Ecuadorian Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo also announced Thursday that two U.S. warships equipped with interceptor boats and helicopters would patrol Ecuadorian territorial waters to support counter-narcotics operations.

Loffredo said the deployment would triple Ecuador’s maritime interdiction capacity. He also announced that three Black Hawk helicopters had arrived in Manta and would participate in operations.

The defense minister did not specify when the U.S.-supported maritime patrols would begin.