QUITO, Ecuador — Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa fully aligned his administration with Washington’s aggressive strategy to dismantle transnational criminal organizations. This week, Noboa welcomed high-level U.S. support and reinforced warnings from the United States government that foreign drug-trafficking cartels will “eat these countries alive” if left unchecked.
\n\nDuring high-stakes bilateral meetings in the Ecuadorian capital earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised Ecuador as the Trump administration’s most aggressive partner in the hemisphere-wide push against drug trafficking networks. The meeting signaled a dramatic shift in South American security posture, as conservative leaders across the region unite with Washington to confront transnational criminal cartels operating in the Western Hemisphere.
\n\n“If you don’t confront these groups, they will eat these countries alive,” Secretary Rubio warned following discussions with President Noboa. “It’s like a cancer that continues to grow until you don’t literally have a state anymore.”
\n\nRather than pushing back against hardline American rhetoric regarding the vast territories controlled by Mexican cartels—specifically the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). In 2025, the U.S. State Department designated these and other cartels and gangs as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO).
\n\nPresident Noboa doubled down on joint security operations. Ecuador…
Original source: https://www.breitbart.com/latin-america/
