US seeks $45 million for Ecuador security crackdown
Washington plans new funding, naval equipment and sanctions as it expands cooperation with Ecuador on drug trafficking.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington would ask Congress for $45 million in additional security funding for Ecuador during a visit to Quito, where he met President Daniel Noboa.
The proposed package includes a separate $10 million initiative targeting illegal gold mining, gang recruitment and illicit finance. The US also plans to provide Ecuador with a 110-foot Coast Guard cutter and five interceptor vessels, alongside seven vessels already delivered this year.
Rubio said US and Ecuadorian forces were conducting joint operations against boats suspected of drug smuggling, with targeting decisions assessed on a “strike-by-strike” basis. He said the operations were intended to target drug traffickers rather than fishermen.
The US State Department designated the Ecuador-based gang Los Tiguerones as a foreign terrorist organisation, citing alleged links to narcotrafficking and other illicit activity. Washington also announced sanctions against seven former Ecuadorian officials over alleged bribery; the officials were not identified in the available material.
The cooperation comes as Noboa pursues a crackdown on violence and drug trafficking, following his accession to office in 2023. Recent operations involving intercepted and sunk vessels have drawn criticism from human rights groups and some Latin American leaders, who have described comparable strikes as extrajudicial killings.
The proposed $45 million remains subject to approval by the US Congress.
