American forces back Ecuadorian operations aimed at dismantling cartel-linked maritime trafficking and designated terrorist groups.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
U.S. military forces have begun supporting Ecuador in a series of armed operations targeting drug-trafficking organizations that U.S. officials say operate as terrorist networks across the region.
According to a Friday night statement, American forces have carried out multiple actions since Sept. 2 aimed at vessels suspected of transporting narcotics. One of those operations resulted in the destruction of a boat carrying 11 individuals tied to Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua criminal organization. The group was formally labeled a foreign terrorist organization by President Donald Trump on Jan. 20, 2025.
Ecuadorian security forces have been conducting combat operations on land as part of the broader campaign against armed criminal groups operating within the country. U.S. support for those actions was confirmed in a public statement by U.S. Southern Command shared on X.
In the post, officials said the operation was ordered by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, referenced through the account of @SecWar, and directed by the head of U.S. Southern Command.
“At the order of @SecWar, #SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan directed the joint force to support Ecuadorian forces conducing lethal kinetic operations against Designated Terrorist Organizations within Ecuador March 6,” the command wrote in the statement published on the SOUTHCOM account.
Marine Corps Gen. Francis L. Donovan described the operation as a coordinated effort between American and Ecuadorian forces aimed at disrupting trafficking networks tied to organized crime and terrorism.
“We are advancing alongside our partners in the fight against narcoterrorism,” Donovan said in the statement. “I congratulate our joint forces and the Ecuadorian armed forces for the successful operation against narcoterrorists in Ecuador. This collaborative and decisive action is a strategic success for all nations in the Western Hemisphere committed to disrupting and defeating narcoterrorism.”
The ongoing actions come amid expanded U.S. policy targeting transnational criminal organizations operating throughout Latin America.
In September 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated two Ecuadorian criminal organizations — Los Choneros and Los Lobos — as foreign terrorist organizations because of their connections to Mexican drug cartels and cross-border trafficking networks. The designation was announced in a State Department notice describing the groups’ role in violent criminal activity tied to the regional narcotics trade.
The State Department said the move was intended to strengthen joint enforcement actions with Ecuador as authorities attempt to dismantle cartel-linked infrastructure operating in the country. The official announcement, published in a State Department release, outlined the U.S. government’s position on the groups.
“The United States, in partnership with Ecuador and its President Daniel Noboa, will continue to protect our two nations by keeping illicit drugs off our streets and disrupting the revenue streams funding drug cartels’ terrorism and criminal activity,” the department said in the release.
President Trump’s administration expanded the use of terrorist designations to include major cartel organizations shortly after the start of his second term in January 2025, a policy shift intended to enable broader enforcement authorities against trafficking networks that operate across international borders.
Officials said the operations now underway in Ecuador are part of a coordinated strategy involving both military and law-enforcement cooperation designed to disrupt maritime trafficking routes, dismantle armed criminal groups, and reduce the flow of narcotics moving through the region into the United States.
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