U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised Ecuador as Washington's leading regional partner against transnational crime after meeting President Daniel Noboa in Quito, announcing new security assistance and measures targeting criminal groups and officials accused of collaborating with them.
"We have no better ally in the region in terms of confronting the transnational criminal threat," Rubio said Wednesday after meeting privately with Noboa, according to CNN en Español.
Rubio said the United States would provide Ecuador with a Coast Guard cutter and five interceptor vessels in the coming months, the news site also reported, adding that the Trump administration would seek additional funding from Congress to support Ecuador's anti-crime operations.
Reuters reported that Rubio plans to request $45 million in additional security assistance.
The secretary also announced the designation of Los Tiguerones, an Ecuadorian gang, as a foreign terrorist organization, adding to previous U.S. designations of Los Choneros and Los Lobos.
"We're not talking about a normal mafia, we're not talking about criminals. We're talking about terrorists," Rubio said. He added that Washington plans to designate seven former Ecuadorian officials accused of accepting bribes and collaborating with criminal organizations.
The announcements come as Washington and Quito expand joint operations in the Pacific aimed at intercepting vessels suspected of transporting drugs or supplying fuel to traffickers.
Ecuador was the second stop on Rubio's three-country South American tour. In Colombia on Tuesday, he met President Abelardo de la Espriella and said Washington hoped to establish a "golden era" in bilateral relations after tensions under former President Gustavo Petro. Security and counternarcotics cooperation were central to those talks.
Rubio traveled next to Peru, where he met President Keiko Fujimori on Thursday as he concluded the tour. Their discussions focused on organized crime, drug trafficking and migration, as well as defense and economic cooperation.
The three stops reflect the Trump administration's effort to deepen security cooperation with governments in the region that have made combating organized crime a central policy priority.
