US military launches operations with Ecuador’s forces against ‘narco-terrorists’ 

The United States launched operations against “designated terrorist organizations” on Tuesday alongside Ecuadorian forces inside the Latin American nation. 

The U.S. Southern Command (Southcom) did not disclose which terrorist groups it is targeting or the scope of the operations, but the development comes as the U.S. military has been blowing up alleged drug-trafficking boats in both the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific since early September. 

“We commend the men and women of the Ecuadorian armed forces for their unwavering commitment to this fight, demonstrating courage and resolve through continued actions against narco-terrorists in their country,” Marine Gen. Francis L. Donovan, the commander of Southcom, said in a statement released late Tuesday. 

Since Sept. 2, 2025, the U.S. military has conducted at least 44 strikes and has killed a minimum of 150 “narco-terrorists” in both the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. U.S. officials have argued that they are blowing up drug-trafficking vessels, helping stem the flow of illegal drugs in the region. Law-of-war experts have said that the lethal strikes violate international law.

In early January, U.S. forces performed a successful raid in Caracas, capturing Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and bringing him to New York to face drug-smuggling charges. 

Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa said on Monday that Washington was among “regional allies” in a new chapter of Ecuador’s battle against drug cartels. 

About 70 percent of the world’s cocaine goes through Ecuadorian ports, Noboa said. 

In September, following Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s trip to Ecuador, the U.S. government designated two Ecuadorian criminal groups, Los Lobos and Los Choneros, as foreign terrorist organizations.

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