Ecuador's evolution into a major drug trafficking hub and the ensuing surge of violence weighs on the nation following the killing of a presidential candidate whose life's work was to fight crime.

The police operation, coordinated by European Union judicial cooperation agency Eurojust, aimed to dismantle a network that includes the 'ndrangheta, Colombian drug producers and paramilitary groups.

Andrew Tate, a U.K.-U.S. citizen who was banned from social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and hate speech, was reportedly detained in Romania on human trafficking and rape charges.

Deputies responded to a call of shots fired Monday morning in the remote mountain area of Aguanga. They found multiple bodies with gunshot wounds and more than 1,000 pounds of processed marijuana.