The commander of Ecuador’s coast guard stood, his gaze fixed on a drug-carrying submarine, a palpable sense of defeat in his eyes. Despite relentless efforts and his sailors risking their lives, the flow of cocaine seemed unstoppable.
Drug smugglers, he conceded, consistently stayed several steps ahead of law enforcement.
While the Ecuadorean Navy possesses just two submarines, the number operated by cartels remains a mystery, though it is certainly far greater.
In the last 15 years, Ecuador has managed to seize approximately a dozen fully or semi-submersible drug vessels. However, American authorities estimate that this represents only a minuscule portion of the total vessels operating globally.
During a visit to the expansive naval base on Guayaquil’s waterfront, Ecuador’s largest city, we observed a somber display of drug-trafficking ships seized by the navy, some with assistance from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. These ships formed a stark graveyard of sun-baked fishing boats, semi-submersibles, and a massive metal submarine.
This collection of vessels vividly demonstrated the sophisticated ingenuity of cartels in devising methods to transport drugs globally.
Last week, the U.S. military launched an attack on a semi-submersible vessel in the Caribbean, asserting it was transporting cocaine. The incident resulted in two fatalities, though two individuals survived, including an Ecuadorean man who was later returned to his home country.
Image: A dark blue semi-submersible vessel stands on display at the naval base, surrounded by trees. These stealthy crafts are a common sight in the illicit drug trade.
This recent strike is part of an ongoing campaign by the Trump administration aimed at destroying vessels suspected of drug smuggling. Notably, the administration also reported hitting a boat off the Colombian coast, marking the first such incident in the Pacific.
However, numerous experts contend that these U.S. military actions may contravene international law.
While traditional rickety fishing boats and speedboats continue to move substantial quantities of cocaine from South America to the United States, semi-submersible vessels first appeared in the 1990s as a sophisticated tactic to bypass U.S. surveillance and interdiction efforts.
These semi-submersibles are typically designed to travel mostly underwater, with only a small fiberglass cockpit protruding for navigation. The Ecuadorean Navy states that these vessels, usually around 50 feet long, carry crews of up to four and can transport two tons of cocaine.
Image: A white vessel partially hidden by branches. Both semi-submersible and fully submersible craft are notoriously difficult to detect, as their low profile allows them to blend seamlessly with the water. Many are constructed from materials like fiberglass and wood to further aid in concealment.
The Ecuadorean coast guard estimated the construction cost of one seized semi-submersible at approximately $1 million. In stark contrast, a single ton of cocaine can command prices as high as $25 million in the United States, highlighting the immense profitability that fuels this dangerous trade.
By the mid-2000s, South American navies began encountering full-fledged submarines. One such vessel, a massive 30-yard-long craft, sits at the Guayaquil naval base. Discovered in 2010, it cost around $2 million to build and was capable of transporting up to 10 tons of cocaine, according to the coast guard commander.
In a continuous game of cat and mouse, when law enforcement started using thermal imaging to detect underwater vessels, drug traffickers adapted. They began coating their submersibles in lead and installing cooling systems to mask their heat signatures, as reported by Insight Crime, a prominent research organization.
The capabilities and reach of these drug-smuggling submarines have expanded dramatically. Initially, they were confined to routes between South and Central America. Today, they are engineered to traverse both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, reaching distant continents like Europe, Africa, and Australia, often traveling thousands of miles without needing to refuel.
Ecuador has emerged as a significant transit point in the global drug trade, with an estimated 70 percent of the world’s cocaine passing through its borders. Although not a production center itself, its strategic location bordering Colombia—the world’s largest cocaine producer—and the bustling ports of Guayaquil, which ship legitimate goods worldwide, offer an irresistible opportunity for cartels.
Image: A military statue stands guard in front of a submarine outside the naval base. Ecuador’s role as a major hub for the global cocaine trade is underscored by its location and busy ports.
Contrary to common perception, U.S. and U.N. data indicates that the majority of the world’s cocaine transits through Ecuador’s Pacific coast, rather than the Caribbean. This surge in cocaine trafficking has dramatically escalated violence in the country, transforming Ecuador from one of Latin America’s safest nations into one of its most perilous.
During my interview with the coast guard commander, whose identity is being withheld for security reasons, the interview was punctuated by fireworks exploding nearby.
“They do that every time a shipment reaches its destination,” he explained with a weary sigh, indicating the gang that controlled the adjacent neighborhood.
A simple brick wall, crowned with sagging barbed wire, served as the sole barrier between Ecuador’s largest navy base and the vast, impoverished neighborhood it bordered. This area was under the dominion of Los Lobos, one of Ecuador’s most formidable drug trafficking organizations. According to officials from the U.S., Europe, and Ecuador, Los Lobos collaborates extensively with Mexican cartels and Albanian and Italian organized crime groups to facilitate global cocaine smuggling.
Just last month, the State Department officially designated Los Lobos as a terrorist organization.
I inquired whether the commander felt apprehension living so close to the enemy his forces were actively combating, and if he ever feared Los Lobos members might breach the walls to attack his personnel or sabotage their equipment.
“Sometimes,” he replied, shrugging with a ‘what can you do?’ expression, a testament to the daily realities of his mission.
Reporting contributed by José María León Cabrera from Guayaquil, Ecuador.