U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is wrapping up a brief trip to Latin America with a stop in Ecuador as countries in the region nervously watch the Trump administration step up military activity to combat drug trafficking and illegal migration.
Rubio’s meetings in Quito on Thursday follow talks a day earlier with Mexican leaders that were overshadowed by a U.S. military strike in the southern Caribbean this week. The Trump administration asserts that it targeted a Venezuelan drug-running ship crewed by members of the Tren de Aragua gang. U.S. officials say the vessel's cargo was intended for the United States and that the strike killed 11 people.
