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US and Ecuador Launch Joint Military Operations Against Narco-Terrorist Gangs

US and Ecuador Launch Joint Military Operations Against Narco-Terrorist Gangs
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The United States and Ecuador opened a new front in Washington’s expanding “war on narco‑terrorism” this week, launching joint military operations inside Ecuador against groups the U.S. has designated terrorist organizations, including the gangs Los Choneros and Los Lobos nytimes +1. The move marked the first publicly acknowledged U.S. land operation of this kind in the South American country and followed months of escalating security cooperation between Quito and Washington theguardian.

U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said on Tuesday that U.S. and Ecuadorian forces had begun “decisive action” against “Designated Terrorist Organizations in Ecuador,” with short video clips showing helicopters and troops but few operational details politico +1. Ecuador’s Defense Ministry called it an “offensive” carried out with U.S. support, while President Daniel Noboa framed the effort as a “new phase” in his campaign against narco‑terrorism and illegal mining nytimes +1.

What the Joint Operation Looks Like on the Ground

Reporting indicated that U.S. Special Operations troops were advising and supporting Ecuadorian commandos with planning, intelligence, and logistics, rather than leading raids themselves theguardian. SOUTHCOM emphasized that the mission targeted drug‑trafficking networks, calling the operation “a powerful example of the commitment of partners in Latin America and the Caribbean to combat the scourge of narco‑terrorism” cnn. Ecuador’s Defense Ministry said details were classified but pledged to “firmly combat organized crime alongside strategic allies” reuters.

The targets are believed to include Los Choneros and Los Lobos, two of Ecuador’s most powerful gangs, which the U.S. designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) in September 2025, unlocking broader military and financial tools against them southcom. Washington later offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the capture of Los Choneros leader Francisco Manuel Bermúdez Cagua, known as “Churrón” 9news. Noboa has argued such cooperation is essential in a country he says now sees about 70% of the world’s cocaine flow through its ports nytimes +1.

Sovereignty Questions and a Regional Pattern of Escalation

The operation unfolded less than four months after Ecuadorian voters rejected a constitutional change that would have allowed foreign military bases on their soil, with roughly 60% voting “no” in a November 2025 referendum fox2detroit. Critics in Ecuador and across the region have warned that deeper U.S. military involvement risks eroding sovereignty and bypassing public opposition to a permanent U.S. presence, even if current deployments are described as temporary and advisory fox2detroit +1.

The Ecuador mission also fit into a broader pattern of U.S. escalation in Latin America. Since 2025, Washington has carried out about 45 lethal strikes on suspected smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific, killing more than 150 people, and in January it launched a dramatic operation in Venezuela that captured President Nicolás Maduro and drew international condemnation bbc +1. Analysts say the new Ecuador front signals that the Trump administration’s strategy of using counter‑drug authorities to justify military action is widening from the seas and Venezuela into the interior of other states theguardian +1.

The Bigger Picture

For Noboa, the joint operation offered firepower and intelligence support against gangs that have helped drive Ecuador’s surge in homicides and prison massacres. For Washington, it extended a hard‑line doctrine that treats major Latin American criminal syndicates as terrorists, not just traffickers. How the campaign unfolds—and whether it leads to measurable reductions in violence and drug flows, or instead fuels backlash over sovereignty and civilian harm—will shape not only Ecuador’s fragile security transition but also the future contours of U.S. military reach in the hemisphere.