US Launches Anti-Drug Op in Ecuador
The U.S. military has launched a new anti-drug trafficking operation in Ecuador. The mission specifically targets organizations that have been designated as terrorist groups, signaling a broadening of the U.S. security focus in Latin America.
The operation specifically targets groups like Los Lobos and Los Choneros, which the U.S. designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations in September 2025. These local gangs have links to Mexico's powerful Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels, who have fueled their brutal turf wars. Ecuador's strategic position between the world's top two cocaine producers, Colombia and Peru, has made it a primary transit hub. An estimated 70% of the cocaine from those nations is now shipped through Ecuador's ports to markets in the United States and Europe. The country's security has rapidly deteriorated. Following the splintering of the dominant Los Choneros gang around 2020, infighting among numerous fragmented groups caused the homicide rate to skyrocket, making Ecuador one of the most violent nations in Latin America. Projections for 2025 estimated a 40% increase in murders. The instability carries significant economic consequences. The International Monetary Fund estimates that a 1% increase in the murder rate corresponds with a 0.5% drop in economic activity. Beyond drugs, the joint U.S.-Ecuador operations also target rampant illegal gold mining, another major revenue stream for criminal groups. This mission follows two military cooperation agreements signed by Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa and Washington in February 2026, paving the way for deeper collaboration. The operations, involving U.S. Southern Command, are set to continue for an "undetermined period of time." Historically, large-scale U.S. anti-drug efforts in Latin America, such as Plan Colombia, have yielded mixed results. While past interventions have dismantled major cartels, they have also been criticized for displacing trafficking routes to neighboring countries and leading to the rise of smaller, fragmented criminal networks.
