The United States has become a key partner for Ecuador in the “war” that President Noboa declared in early 2024 against criminal gangs, which he labeled “terrorists.” Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa declared on Saturday that “time is up” for the “mafias (who) 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. The Ecuadorian president had indicated weeks earlier that he would attend the meeting for “security reasons,” as he asserted that the country needs “international assistance to ensure the safety of Ecuadorians.” This same week, the United States and Ecuador launched joint military operations on Ecuadorian soil against “terrorist” organizations. As was revealed on Friday, they bombed and destroyed a training camp belonging to the Border Commandos, one of the dissident criminal groups of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas. The U.S. also designated Los Lobos and Los Choneros, Ecuador’s two largest and most violent criminal groups, as “terrorists.” Following his meeting with Trump, Noboa met with Kristi Noem, supervisor of the “Shield of the Americas” strategy and the recently dismissed U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security. According to official information, the camp belonged to a leader nicknamed 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 in early 2024 against criminal gangs, which he labeled “terrorists” for causing the worst wave of violence in the country’s history, with Ecuador leading Latin America in homicide rates. In addition, Chile’s president-elect, José Antonio Kast, who will be inaugurated next Wednesday, participated. In his brief statement, the president wrote: “That they could cross borders, move drugs, weapons, and violence without consequences. That time is up.” Noboa also attached photos to his brief statement, along with pictures of the presidents who attended the summit, dubbed “Shield of the Americas,” and one showing the US president displaying a signed executive order formalizing the new “military coalition” in Latin America against drug cartels, which he announced on Saturday.
