US launches joint anti-narcotics operations with Ecuador in new front against cartels

(Representative Image)

• US and Ecuador begin joint operations against terror groups.
• Focus is on combating narco-terrorism and illegal mining.
• Ecuador vows continued cooperation with US to restore security.

Did our AI summary help?

The United States has begun joint military operations with Ecuador targeting what it calls “designated terrorist organisations,” opening a new front in President Donald Trump’s campaign to curb drug trafficking across the hemisphere.

The Pentagon announced Tuesday that US forces are working alongside Ecuador’s military, though it did not detail the scope of the operations or identify specific targets.

A short video shared by the United States Southern Command showed personnel boarding a helicopter, signalling active deployments.

In a statement, Southern Command described the effort as “a powerful example” of regional cooperation to combat “narco-terrorism,” adding that both countries were taking “decisive action” against groups blamed for spreading violence and corruption.

The move appears to expand the Trump administration’s Operation Southern Spear, under which the US has carried out more than 40 lethal strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean since September. According to US officials, 151 people have been killed in those operations in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean.

Two of Ecuador’s most powerful criminal groups, Los Lobos and Los Choneros, were designated as foreign terrorist organisations by the US State Department last September.

Southern Command chief Gen. Francis L. Donovan praised Ecuador’s armed forces for their “unwavering commitment” in confronting drug-trafficking networks.

Ecuador’s Ministry of Defence said a “new phase against narco-terrorism and illegal mining” had begun, vowing continued cooperation with “strategic allies” to restore security.

The announcement came a day after Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa met Donovan and other US defence officials at the Government Palace in Quito.

According to the Ecuadorian presidency, the talks focused on strengthening airport and port controls, boosting intelligence-sharing, and improving operational coordination against transnational organised crime.

Noboa has forged close security ties with Washington as Ecuador battles surging violence linked to drug trafficking. He has said that around 70 per cent of the world’s cocaine now flows through Ecuador’s major ports, making the country a key transit hub. Ecuador borders Colombia and Peru, the world’s two largest cocaine producers.

Despite the deepening cooperation, Ecuadorians voted in a referendum last November against allowing the return of foreign military bases, dealing a setback to proposals for an expanded US presence.

The latest operations also follow Washington’s temporary deployment of US Air Force personnel to the former base in the port city of Manta three months ago.

Tackling drug flows remains a central priority for the Trump administration. In January, US authorities announced the seizure of Venezuela’s then-president, Nicolás Maduro, accusing him of “narco-terrorism” and facilitating large-scale cocaine shipments to the United States.

Last month, Trump hosted Colombian President Gustavo Petro at the White House amid tensions over drug control efforts. Trump has repeatedly warned that expanded US strikes could also target networks operating in Colombia.