March 31 (UPI) -- Increased military pressure by the United States on drug trafficking routes in the Pacific Ocean has forced criminal groups to sharply raise payments to those willing to transport narcotics by sea, a police official said. In Ecuador's coastal provinces of Manabí and Santa Elena, recruitment costs for local fishermen tasked with moving cocaine to Central America on speedboats have surged to unprecedented levels. According to Ecuadorian outlet Primicias, in 2023 and 2024