API
< Back to all clusters
[INTERNATIONAL] · Ecuador, Panama, United States · 33 sources

started · updated

Jacobo Bucaram and four others charged by US for cocaine trafficking

Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York have charged Jacobo Abdala Bucaram-Pulley, son of former Ecuadorian President Abdalá Bucaram, along with four other Ecuadorians for conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States and Europe. The defendants include former legislator Jaime Estrada Medranda, his father Jaime Estrada Bonilla, Geovanny Fernández Menéndez, and William José Briones López.

According to US authorities, the group allegedly used a seafood export company to hide large quantities of cocaine in containers of legitimate goods, such as tuna. Prosecutors claim the network played a critical role in making Ecuador a major transit point for cocaine destined for the US and Europe, often collaborating with criminal organizations like Los Choneros and Los Lobos.

In a coordinated regional operation involving the DEA, Interpol, and local police, three individuals were detained in Guayaquil, Ecuador, and two were arrested in Panama. The detainees are currently facing extradition proceedings to the United States. The US Attorney’s Office has also requested the seizure of assets and firearms linked to the alleged criminal operations.

Entities

Abdalá Bucaram · Abdalá Bucaram Ortiz · DEA · Ecuador · Ecuadorian National Police · Guayaquil · Interpol · Jacobo Abdala Bucaram-Pulley · Jacobo Bucaram Pulley · Jamie McDonald · John Reimberg

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

Sources