Ecuador, Spain dismantle Balkan cartel cocaine ring, seize $1.76B

Ecuadorian and Spanish authorities arrested 21 suspects, including two police officers, in a coordinated operation seizing cocaine valued at $1.765 billion. The group is linked to the Balkan cartel, indicating transnational drug trafficking networks operating between Latin America and Europe. The arrests highlight corruption within Ecuadorian law enforcement and the scale of narcotics flows through the region.