On November 5, U.S. federal prosecutors announced in New York City that they have charged the son of Ecuador’s former president, a member of Ecuador’s former legislative body, and three other Ecuadorians with trafficking ‘tons’ of cocaine to the United States and Europe. Some of the methods involved hiding the drugs in containers carrying tuna.
U.S. federal prosecutors Jeremy Mc Donald said five defendants played "key roles" in transforming Ecuador into a crucial "transit hub" for most of the cocaine heading to both America and Europe.
McKennon said in a statement: “Today's charges represent coordinated efforts to dismantle political corruption and drug trafficking. These issues have caused serious damage in Ecuador, contributing to an increase in violent incidents in recent years.”
The prosecution stated in its press release that former President’s son, Hachov Abdualla Bucaram-Puri, and Jaime Estrada Medlanda, who had served as a member of the Ecuadorian National Congress, were arrested this month. The former was arrested in Ecuador, while the latter was arrested while traveling in Panama.
It is reported that Ecuador has been working hard to curb drug violence. Drug cartels collude with local gangs to gain control of coastal ports and other routes for cocaine smuggling. The country lies between the world’s two largest cocaine producers, Colombia and Peru.
The Trump administration has reached agreements with Ecuador and other Latin American countries to carry out joint military operations against criminal groups, while retaining the right to unilaterally bomb ships suspected of drug trafficking.
The prosecution claims that 41-year-old Medlanda and her 71-year-old father, Bonillia (who was once the mayor of a city in Ecuador), used their seafood company to help drug traffickers. They transported large quantities of cocaine out of Ecuador using containers filled with legal goods such as tuna.
