The president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, strengthened his alliance with the United States government this week and openly supported the strategy of the Donald Trump administration to combat drug trafficking cartels and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the security of the Western Hemisphere.
During a high-level visit to Quito, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio highlighted Ecuador as one of Washington's strongest partners in the fight against drug trafficking networks. The meeting with Noboa evidenced the growing rapprochement between both governments and a security strategy that prioritizes direct action against organizations that have international structures, enormous financial resources, and the capacity to challenge state authority.
Rubio warned that countries that do not decisively confront these organizations risk losing control of parts of their territory. The official compared the expansion of the cartels to a cancer that continues to grow until it threatens the very existence of the state.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa highlighted the actions of the Trump administration to combat drug trafficking in Latin America
The Trump administration has significantly hardened its stance against these organizations. In 2025, the United States designated several of the major cartels operating on the continent as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO), including the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). This measure expanded the tools available to Washington against their financial, logistical, and operational structures.
Ecuador, for its part, has become a strategic point of the offensive due to its location between Colombia and Peru, two major cocaine producers. Ecuadorian authorities maintain that local criminal organizations act as intermediaries and operators of networks linked to powerful Mexican cartels.
In this context, the United States also designated the Ecuadorian gang Los Tiguerones as a foreign terrorist organization, following similar measures against Los Chone Killers and Los Lobos.
Noboa defended the decision and stated that these groups have ceased to be mere criminal bands to become structures with international reach and capabilities that directly threaten Ecuadorian sovereignty. The president has made the recovery of territorial control and the fight against drug trafficking one of the priorities of his government.
Marco Rubio described Ecuador as an important asset in the fight against drugs and warned about the danger that narco-terrorist organizations could threaten the sovereignty of the country
Cooperation has also extended to the maritime realm. In early September, Ecuadorian forces worked alongside the U.S. Navy in an operation in the eastern Pacific that resulted in the seizure and subsequent sinking of a vessel used as a floating supply station for drug traffickers.
For Daniel Noboa, this type of operation demonstrates that Ecuador is willing to regain control of its territorial waters and ports through close cooperation with Washington. The president emphasized that acting alongside the United States allows for more effective disruption of the routes used by drug trafficking organizations.
The operation is part of a broad policy promoted by Trump, who authorized the use of military force against certain drug trafficking cartels. The strategy represents a shift from previous approaches and seeks to treat transnational criminal organizations as national security threats rather than merely a police problem.
The Trump administration is implementing a policy aimed at using military forces against criminal organizations
During his visit, Noboa also awarded Rubio the Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit of Ecuador, in recognition of the cooperation between both countries. The Ecuadorian president stated that U.S. collaboration helps strengthen the security of Ecuador, the United States, and the rest of the region.
The Ecuadorian Foreign Minister, Roberto Kury, described his country as a ''loyal, active, and decisive'' ally of Washington in the fight against criminal networks. The statement reflects Quito's intention to deepen coordination with the Trump administration and support a more aggressive regional policy against drug trafficking.
Rubio also pressured Mexico, acknowledging that the government of that country has increased its efforts against the cartels, but pointed out that the measures remain insufficient. The secretary highlighted the murders of political candidates, judges, and journalists as evidence of the power that criminal organizations have achieved in Mexican territory.
The Ecuadorian chancellor described his country as a "loyal, active, and decisive" ally of Washington
