QUITO, Ecuador — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio hailed Ecuador on Wednesday as being the most "aggressive" partner in the Trump administration's push to crack down on drug trafficking and transnational criminal groups in the Western Hemisphere.
Rubio was in Quito on the second leg of a three-nation tour of South America aimed at boosting security cooperation with conservative leaders who have cozied up to President Donald Trump. Rubio met with Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, who has rapidly embraced the Trump administration's get-tough stance on counternarcotics operations and illegal immigration.
Rubio told reporters that “elite forces” from both countries “are working jointly on a day-to-day basis in a way that has no precedent in order to try to dismantle these terrorist organizations.”
He announced his latest foreign terrorist organization designation of a Latin American drug trafficking ring: Ecuador's Los Tiguerones. It was among 22 criminal gangs designated as "terrorists" by Ecuador in 2024 after it declared an internal armed conflict during a surge in violence that included gunmen storming a television station during a live broadcast.
Under the Trump administration’s counternarcotics strategy, it could make the group a target for military action.
Ecuador has been helping the U.S. as it intercepts and sinks vessels, including one Tuesday that Washington said had links to the Ecuadorian criminal group Los Choneros. It was the sixth such operation in less than two weeks and the second in as many days.
Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Roberto Kury called his country “a loyal ally, an active ally and a decisive ally to be able to build a safer hemisphere, free hemisphere and prosperous hemisphere.”
Rubio said he would be asking Congress for $45 million to keep funding the effort of “dismantling these terrorist groups,” although he did not specify what the funds would be for.
Ecuador has struggled to contain drug violence since 2021 as rival cartels partner with local gangs and battle for control of routes and coastal ports used to smuggle cocaine. The country is wedged between Colombia and Peru, the world's top cocaine-producing countries.
Under Noboa, Ecuador has become a strong U.S. partner in counterdrug efforts in the region.
The recent U.S. interdictions in Latin American waters are unlike the Trump administration's strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats that began in September 2025. Lately, people aboard floating refueling stations said to be supporting drug trafficking have been removed and transferred to Ecuadorian authorities.
It appears to be a shift after a series of strikes on boats over the year has killed at least 227 people, whom the Trump administration accused of being “narcoterrorists” without providing evidence. The U.S. military carried out at least two of those deadly strikes last month.
On Wednesday, Rubio was presented with Ecuador’s second-highest national honor, the National Order of Merit in the degree of Grand Cross, for his service in improving U.S.-Ecuador ties. Rubio used the occasion to hail Noboa and his government’s commitment to securing the country.
Noboa also praised Rubio’s work, saying America's top diplomat was helping bring peace to the U.S. and the region by traveling between countries to strengthen security and ties.
Rubio will head next to Lima to meet new Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori, another leader aligned with Trump's tough positions on the drug trade and migration. On Tuesday, he met with new conservative firebrand President Abelardo de la Espriella in Barranquilla on Colombia's Caribbean coast.
De la Espriella and Rubio both extolled a resurgence in U.S.-Colombia ties, starting in the security sector where cooperation had lagged under the previous Colombian leadership.
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Associated Press writer Gonzalo Solano in Quito and Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.
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