'Stained With Blood': New Port Brings Violent Drug Cartels to Ecuador Fishing Town

The report examines how Ecuadorian gangs Los Choneros and Los Lobos have leveraged the Posorja port for cocaine trafficking, coercing residents and truck drivers, and exploiting corruption risks among port staff despite layered security controls, with most 2025 seizures occurring at final canine screenings; an EU 2024 assessment flags a high infiltration risk, and the resulting violence has surged since 2020, with over 200 murders in Posorja compared to 13 in the five years before the port opened.