U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa (right) preside over an extended meeting at the presidential palace in Quito, Ecuador, September 4, 2025
THE United States is designating two Ecuadorian gangs as foreign terrorist organisations.
The two, Los Lobos and Los Choneros are Ecuadorian gangs blamed for much of the violence that began during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Both groups are alleged by the US to be involved in contract killings, extortion operations and the movement and sale of drugs.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking while in Ecuador, said the terrorist designation brings “all sorts of options” for Washington to work in conjunction with the Ecuadorian government to crack down on these groups.
That includes the ability to kill them as well as take action against the properties and banking accounts in the US of the group’s members and those with ties to the criminal organisations, Mr Rubio said.
He said the label also would help with intelligence sharing.
The move marks the latest attempt by the Trump administration to target criminal cartels in Latin America.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the announcement Thursday in Quito, the capital of Ecuador.
The visit was part of a trip to Latin America overshadowed by a US military strike against a similarly designated gang, Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua.
That attack has raised concerns in the region about a potential attack on Venezuela under the guise of combatting drug-trafficking and so-called illegal migration.
US baseless accusations of drug trafficking and the outrageous putting of a bounty on a president of a sovereign country do not bode well, reports PABLO MERIGUET
Noboa’s second term looks set to deepen his neoliberal policies: reduced public investment, privatization, cuts to social programmes, and militarisation, says PILAR TROYA FERNANDEZ
