Cocaine Cartels NOW SLAUGHTERING Thousands of Sharks

Drug cartels running cocaine through Latin America are now slaughtering sharks by the thousands, exploiting environmental loopholes to fund their criminal empires while decimating ocean wildlife and coercing honest fishermen into complicity.

Story Highlights

Ecuadorian gangs Los Choneros and Los Lobos seized controlling Pacific ports, finning sharks on cocaine routes and storing 27 metric tons near the Galápagos Islands
Authorities linked 3,500 shark fins hidden in fish bladders to a Cali Cartel heir’s firm, representing up to 1,000 dead sharks in a single 2021 Colombian bust
Cartels exploit Ecuador’s 2007 bycatch loophole to mask illegal finning as legal trade, feeding a $500 million global market while laundering drug profits
Coastal fishermen face violent extortion and robbery at sea, forced to surrender catches or assist smuggling operations for tens of thousands of euros per shipment

Cartels Merge Cocaine Routes With Shark Fin Smuggling

Narcotrafficking organizations in Ecuador’s Manabí province and Peru transformed fishing vessels into dual-purpose criminal tools between 2024 and 2025. Police seized two boats near the Galápagos Islands carrying 27 metric tons of shark fins alongside cocaine shipments destined for Asia. Ecuador’s antinarcotics chief Carlos Ortega confirmed the vessels operated on established drug routes, using the remote Galápagos as a storage depot before continuing to Hong Kong buyers. Gangs like Los Choneros and Los Lobos control coastal ports through violence, forcing artisanal fishermen to harvest sharks or face motor theft and physical threats. This diversification strategy mirrors how criminal enterprises seek resilient revenue streams when primary operations face enforcement pressure.

Regulatory Loopholes Enable Criminal Wildlife Exploitation

Ecuador’s 2007 bycatch law created a catastrophic enforcement gap that cartels now exploit systematically. The regulation permits shark fin sales from incidental catches, transforming Ecuador into a top global exporter despite broad fishing bans. Traffickers mask deliberate finning operations as accidental bycatch, shipping fins through legal channels while discarding carcasses at sea. Retired police general Freddy Sarzosa noted fishermen join operations due to sea insecurity and economic desperation, earning significant sums per shipment. This government-created loophole exemplifies how poorly designed regulations empower criminal networks rather than protect natural resources, undermining conservation efforts while enriching violent gangs.

International Criminal Networks Control Trade Infrastructure

The shark fin trade’s criminal infrastructure extends beyond Ecuador to Colombia and Costa Rica, revealing a hemisphere-wide operation. In 2021, Colombian authorities seized 3,500 fins at Bogotá’s El Dorado airport hidden in fish bladders, tracing them to Fernapez—a firm owned by Fernando Rodríguez Mondragón, son of a Cali Cartel member. The company exported fins to Hong Kong’s Ho’S Import & Export before closing amid money laundering investigations. Costa Rica’s Puntarenas port remains under control of Taiwanese and Indonesian mafia groups managing 95% of dock operations, where 894 kilograms of cocaine were discovered frozen inside shark carcasses. Julie Andersen of Shark Angels confirmed the trade mirrors narcotics trafficking with murder, greed, and organized crime syndicates dominating logistics.

Economic and Environmental Devastation Accelerates Unchecked

The convergence of drug trafficking and wildlife crime generates cascading damage across ecosystems and communities. Each major bust represents 900 to 1,000 dead sharks, accelerating population collapse of CITES-protected species. The global trade generates up to $500 million annually, with individual bowls of shark fin soup fetching $200 in Asian markets. Cartels earn tens of thousands of euros per shipment as secondary income, bolstering organizational resilience against narcotics interdiction efforts. Coastal communities lose legitimate fishing opportunities to gangsterism while corruption spreads through law enforcement in countries like Costa Rica, where police reportedly answer to mafia interests rather than citizens.

Wiretap evidence from Ecuador’s December 2025 Código Vidrio investigation confirms operations continue unabated despite seizures, with gangs partnering with sea pirates to expand fishing control. Mexican cartels also show increasing interest in wildlife trafficking including fisheries, according to Brookings researcher Vanda Felbab-Brown. The criminal model proves alarmingly effective: exploit weak enforcement, coerce vulnerable workers, launder profits through legal channels, and diversify revenue sources to ensure survival. Until governments close regulatory loopholes and confront port corruption directly, cartels will continue converting ocean wildlife into blood money while honest fishermen suffer under criminal extortion on the high seas.