US charges Ecuador ex-president's son with cocaine trafficking

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 5 Nov, 21:39 · Archive

A son of Ecuador's former president and four other Ecuadorians face federal charges for allegedly trafficking tonnes of cocaine to the US and Europe.

Federal prosecutors in New York announced charges on Thursday against five Ecuadorians for trafficking tonnes of cocaine to the United States and Europe. Jacobo Abdala Bucaram-Pulley, son of Ecuador's former president, and Jaime Estrada Medranda, a former member of Ecuador's National Assembly, were arrested this month—the former in Ecuador and the latter whilst travelling in Panama. The other three defendants are Jaime Estrada Bonilla, Geovanny Fernandez Menendez and William Jose Briones Lopez.

Prosecutors say Medranda, 41, and Bonilla, his 71-year-old father and a former mayor in Ecuador, used their seafood company to help drug traffickers smuggle cocaine out of Ecuador using containers packed with legitimate goods such as tuna. According to US Attorney Jamie McDonald, the five defendants played a 'critical role' in turning Ecuador into a key transit point for the vast majority of cocaine sent to the US and Europe.

Ecuador has struggled to contain drug violence as rival cartels partner with local gangs in a battle to control coastal ports and other routes used to smuggle cocaine. The country sits between Colombia and Peru, the world's top cocaine-producing countries. The Trump administration has reached agreements with Ecuador and other Latin American countries to carry out joint military operations against criminal groups.

How it is being reported

• US charges son of Ecuador's former president, 4 others with cocaine traffickingFederal prosecutors have charged a son of Ecuador’s former president, a former member of Ecuador’s legislature and three other Ecuadorians with trafficking tons of cocaine to the United States and Europe in part by hiding it in containers carrying tuna.Clickorlando · 5 Nov, 20:58
• US charges son of Ecuador's former president, 4 others with cocaine traffickingFederal prosecutors have charged a son of Ecuador’s former president, a former member of Ecuador’s legislature and three other Ecuadorians with trafficking tons of cocaine to the United States and Europe in part by hiding it in containers carrying tuna.News4Jax · 5 Nov, 20:58

In this story: Jacobo Abdala Bucaram-Pulley · Jaime Estrada Medranda · Ecuador · United States · Europe · US Attorney's Office

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log