Ecuador arrests over 30 in US-backed CJNG raid

US troops and the Drug Enforcement Administration helped Ecuadorian authorities dismantle a local branch of Mexico's Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Ecuadorian Interior Minister John Reimberg said Thursday.

Reimberg said more than 30 Ecuadorians were arrested in the early-morning operation for allegedly belonging to a group with a direct connection to the CJNG. He said 320 Ecuadorian police officers and 50 uniformed personnel from the US Southern Command took part in raids across several cities.

The minister said the group trafficked cocaine from Colombia to international markets through ports in southwestern Ecuador.

Ecuador is cooperating with US President Donald Trump's crackdown on organised crime across Latin America. President Daniel Noboa defended Ecuador's campaign against criminal organisations at the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, saying the government received criticism over the fight against organised crime but too little concern about victims.

Human rights organisations have raised alarm over Ecuador's military offensive against criminal groups, denouncing cases of excessive force, torture and enforced disappearance.