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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Ecuador's Noboa Praises Trump-Rubio Cartel Crackdown Strategy |
| 2026-09-13 |
| [BB] QUITO, Ecuador — Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa fully aligned his administration with Washington’s aggressive strategy to dismantle transnational criminal organizations. This week, Noboa welcomed high-level U.S. support and reinforced warnings from the United States government that foreign drug-trafficking cartels will “eat these countries alive” if left unchecked. During high-stakes bilateral meetings in the Ecuadorian capital earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised Ecuador as the Trump administration’s most aggressive partner in the hemisphere-wide push against drug trafficking networks. The meeting signaled a dramatic shift in South American security posture, as conservative leaders across the region unite with Washington to confront transnational criminal cartels operating in the Western Hemisphere. “If you don’t confront these groups, they will eat these countries alive,” Secretary Rubio warned following discussions with President Noboa. “It’s like a cancer that continues to grow until you don’t literally have a state anymore.” Rather than pushing back against hardline American rhetoric regarding the vast territories controlled by Mexican cartels—specifically the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). In 2025, the U.S. State Department designated these and other cartels and gangs as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO). President Noboa doubled down on joint security operations. Ecuador serves as a primary transit corridor for cocaine produced in neighboring Colombia and Peru, with local gangs acting as heavily armed proxies for Mexican cartel bosses. To solidify the growing alliance, Washington officially added the notorious Ecuadorian gang Los Tiguerones to the FTO list, according to an article by Breitbart News’ Christian Caruzo. This follows similar recent designations for the Chone Killers and Los Lobos. The FTO classification allows the U.S. government to impose expanded financial sanctions, expand intelligence capabilities, and pursue potential military targeting against the groups. “These are not ordinary street gangs,” Noboa explained, “they operate with international logistics, massive financial backing, and terrorist capabilities that threaten the sovereignty of our nation.” Just over a week ago, Ecuador joined the United States Navy in seizing and then sinking a boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean that was operating as a floating refueling station for drug traffickers, Breitbart Texas reported. |
| Posted by:Skidmark |