More than 30 people were arrested Thursday in Ecuador during a joint counter-drug operation involving Ecuadorian police, U.S. Southern Command troops and the Drug Enforcement Administration, marking a significant expansion of security cooperation between Washington and Quito.

Ecuadorian Interior Minister John Reimberg said the operation targeted an organization with a direct connection to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, or CJNG. Authorities conducted simultaneous raids in cities including Guayaquil, Daule, Samborondón, Ventanas, Babahoyo, Puebloviejo, Vinces and Machala.

More than 320 Ecuadorian police officers and 50 U.S. military personnel participated in the operation. Ecuadorian authorities said American personnel provided operational and technological support, including equipment used during the raids. Local reporting described the deployment as the first time U.S. Southern Command troops directly participated in this type of search operation in Ecuador.

The investigation had lasted roughly eight months. According to Reimberg, the organization received large quantities of cocaine from Colombia and handled its collection, brokerage, distribution and transportation before sending shipments through Ecuadorian ports toward Central America, the United States and Europe.

Authorities said previous drug seizures connected to the investigation dealt the organization an estimated $322 million financial blow. Ecuadorian officials also said the operation resulted in the detention of suspected leaders and financiers of the network.

The operation comes as President Donald Trump’s administration expands cooperation with Latin American governments against drug-trafficking organizations. Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has made combating organized crime a central focus of his administration and highlighted the joint operation after addressing the United Nations this week.

The U.S. government has also increased pressure on Ecuadorian criminal organizations. The State Department has designated Los Choneros, Los Lobos and Los Tiguerones as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, citing their connections to drug trafficking and violence. Ecuador has increasingly worked with Washington as criminal groups with connections to Mexican cartels have expanded their influence.

The latest operation remains part of Ecuador’s broader campaign against organized crime, with authorities continuing to investigate the network and the roles allegedly played by those arrested. Ecuadorian officials have not publicly released the names of the suspects.