LatinNews Daily - 15 September 2025

Ecuador: On 4 September US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the designations of Ecuadorean criminal groups Los Lobos and Los Choneros as foreign terrorist organisations (FTOs) and specially designated global terrorists (SDGTs). According to the US Department of State the two criminal groups have “attacked and threatened public officials and their families, security personnel, judges, prosecutors, and journalists in Ecuador” and are linked to Mexico’s Cártel de Sinaloa and Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) which were designated as FTOs and SDGTs by the US administration led by President Donald Trump in February. The US Department of State highlights that the ultimate goal of the two Ecuadorean criminal groups is “to control drug trafficking routes through Ecuador by terrorizing and inflicting brutal violence” on the Ecuadorean people. It also notes that in July US and Ecuadorean authorities cooperated to extradite the leader of Los Choneros, José Adolfo Macías Villamar, alias ‘Fito’, who was the first Ecuadorean citizen extradited from Ecuador to face justice in the US. Rubio announced the designations during a visit to Ecuador where he expressed support for a return of the US military to its former base in Manta, in Ecuador’s Manabí province, and announced new security funding for Ecuador which will include US$13.7m “to fight drugs and crime” and US$6m for drones, among other security-related promises.

End of preview - This article contains approximately 878 words.

Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article

Not a Subscriber?

Choose from one of the following options

• Subscribe
• Sign up for a one-time, 14-day trial