In a sharp departure from traditional US policy in Latin America, armed American soldiers this week took part in raids on drug trafficking networks in Ecuador. At least three alleged drug traffickers were killed in the week's operations, and dozens more were arrested.
According to the Ecuadorian government, Thursday's raids targeted a drug network with direct ties to Mexico's Jalisco New Generation Cartel. The direct involvement of American troops in operations on the ground marks a significant break from the Pentagon's traditional role in the region, which has focused on providing intelligence and equipment.
Major raid in Guayaquil and the killing of "Charlie"
According to the Wall Street Journal, 50 US military personnel joined more than 300 Ecuadorian police officers last Thursday in coordinated raids in the port city of Guayaquil and other locations across the provinces of Guayas, Los Ríos and El Oro. The operation, carried out with the US Drug Enforcement Administration, led to the arrest of more than 30 suspects.
Ecuadorian Interior Minister John Reimberg released photos and videos of the operation showing police officers alongside heavily armed American soldiers during the raids and arrests.
A day earlier, Ecuadorian forces killed the head of a local drug organization known as "Charlie" in an operation carried out in cooperation with the United States. Charlie was a member of Los Choneros, one of Ecuador's most powerful criminal organizations.
Ecuador's defense minister, Gian Carlo Loffredo, summed up the killing bluntly: "We said it, prison or hell, and he did not make it to prison."
Adam Isacson, a security expert at the Washington Office on Latin America, described the developments as unprecedented. "What we are seeing in Ecuador is unlike anything we've seen even during the Cold War," he told the Wall Street Journal, warning that if the model is replicated in the region, US troops could end up very close to, or participating in, combat.
US Southern Command declined to provide operational details, saying only that the Ecuador-led operations "demonstrate Ecuador's steadfast resolve to defeat hemispheric threats." The involvement is part of a series of aggressive moves by the Trump administration against criminal groups in Latin America, including military strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats.
Ecuador, which lies between Colombia and Peru, the world's two largest cocaine producers, has gone in a few short years from one of South America's safest countries to a cocaine trafficking hub plagued by gangs tied to Mexican and Colombian cartels.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has pushed for international support in the fight. Addressing the UN General Assembly last week, he brushed off criticism from human rights groups over his security crackdown, saying Ecuador receives "plenty of criticism regarding the fight against organized crime and very little concern about the number of victims we are seeing from organized crime."
The United States has said it remains committed to supporting partners in the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition against transnational criminal organizations. The raids followed a visit to Ecuador by Secretary of State Marco Rubio for talks on security and regional cooperation.
