Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa stated on Saturday that «the time is up» for the «mafias that believed America was their territory,» during a summit in Miami convened by his US counterpart, Donald Trump, and attended by other right-wing leaders from the region.
«For too long, the mafias believed that America was their territory. They thought they could cross borders, move drugs, weapons, and violence without consequences. But that time is over,» the leader wrote on his social media platform X. With his brief statement, Noboa attached photos of the presidents who attended the summit, called the 'Shield of the Americas,' and one showing the US leader holding a signed decree formally establishing the new 'military coalition' in Latin America against the drug cartels he announced this Saturday.
The Ecuadorian president had indicated weeks earlier that he would attend the summit «for a security issue,» as he stated, the country «needs international help to provide security for Ecuadorians.» This same week, the United States and Ecuador began joint military operations on Ecuadorian soil against 'terrorist' organizations, in which, as learned on Friday, they bombed and destroyed a training camp of the Front Commands, one of the most violent criminal groups in Ecuador.
The operation took place in the Amazonian province of Sucumbíos, bordering Colombia, where Ecuadorian military, with US intelligence support and assistance, attacked a Front Commands rest camp that, according to official information, belonged to a leader known as Mono Tole and had the capacity to 'train up to fifty drug traffickers.'
The United States has become a key partner for Ecuador in the 'war' that President Noboa declared at the beginning of 2024 against criminal gangs, which he classified as 'terrorists' for being the cause of the worst violence crisis in the country's history, leading Latin America in the homicide rate.
«We have worked not only on security and the fight against cartels, but also on ensuring that drug trafficking is combated,» Noem said at the meeting, according to a statement from the Ecuadorian Presidency. Also attending the summit were the presidents of Argentina, Javier Milei; Bolivia, Rodrigo Paz; Costa Rica, Rodrigo Chávez; Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader; El Salvador, Nayib Bukele; Guyana, Irfaan Ali; Honduras, Nasry Asfura; Panama, José Raúl Mulino; Paraguay, Santiago Peña, and Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad-Bissessar. Additionally, the elected president of Chile, José Antonio Kast, who will take office next Wednesday, participated.
