Colonel (Capitán de Navío) Luis Kon Becerra, commander of the Ecuadorian Marine Corps, is a highly experienced officer whose career has been marked by strategic influence both domestically and abroad. His previous assignments include crucial diplomatic service as the Naval Attaché in Santiago, Chile, and a significant role in the military doctrine as the former director of the Ecuadorian Naval War Academy (AGUENA).
Diálogo had the opportunity to speak with Col. Kon Becerra during his participation in the Marine Leaders of the Americas conference in Washington, D.C., where he discussed the challenges of adapting his Force to the internal armed conflict against transnational organized crime and the critical need for advanced drone technology and international cooperation to secure Ecuador’s borders and cities.
Diálogo: As commander, what have been the most significant challenges you have faced at the helm of the Ecuadorian Marine Corps?
Colonel (Capitán de Navío) Luis Kon Becerra, commander of the Ecuadorian Marine Corps: The non-international armed conflict declared by our government has the sole aim of neutralizing and detaining transnational organized armed groups. These groups are exploiting our ports, coastlines, and cities, using Ecuador as a launching point to expand their illegal drug operations.
Adapting a combat force to address a domestic security problem has been challenging, but we are confident in the Armed Forces’ sufficient capacity to adapt. We’ve had to adjust, as confronting traditional threats is not the same as confronting a third country. Taking action against members of these criminal groups — who take advantage of and blend in with the civilian population — requires a great deal of discretion in the use of weapons and force.
That’s the main challenge we’ve faced. However, I believe the results have been good because we haven’t received any reports of human rights violations or excessive use of force. I believe we’ve acted in strict accordance with national law and with respect for the rights of our citizens.
Diálogo: What changes and adaptations have you made to your strategies for combating international criminal organizations that have the greatest impact on national security?
Col. Kon Becerra: We have always worked with traditional intelligence information and capabilities. Now, we are adapting that entire process to focus on criminal intelligence, integrating information from the National Police and our own open-source intelligence agencies. We transform this intelligence into legal targets for the use of force so our units can intervene.
We’ve significantly increased training related to human rights, international monetary law, and the rules of engagement and standards of behavior. This training ensures our actions do not have negative consequences, particularly by affecting innocent third parties.
I consider this adaptation successful because we have not appeared in international news for indiscriminate use of force, use of weapons, or illegal activities. We control prisons, patrol neighborhoods and cities 24/7, and while an investigation can always be initiated if someone questions our conduct, the result so far is clear: The Ecuadorian Armed Forces, working with the National Police in the security bloc, have acted in a very transparent and professional manner.
Diálogo: Looking ahead, where do you see the most important opportunities for an even deeper partnership with the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM)? Are there specific areas such as technology exchange, professional military education, or logistics support that would be most beneficial to your Force?
Col. Kon Becerra: The Armed Forces have undertaken a project to make use of drones and to improve our communications by employing inter-satellite communications. For example, we want real-time command and control that allows the tactical officer on site to instantly receive the necessary information from the legal advisor, operations, and intelligence on how to act and clearly identify the threat.
If we can utilize all this technology to monitor, detect, execute operations, and pursue the threat more efficiently, we will be much more effective. There is a major national investment program underway for technology, especially for drones and communications.
At levels above mine, we are discussing receiving more U.S. support in this technology. Specifically, we need equipment that allows us to maintain long-duration surveillance over a large area, similar to how we use unmanned aircraft over our national waters. We maintain long hours of reconnaissance until we detect and pursue a threat, then coordinate action with our coast guard and surface forces to make the capture. We want to bring that same successful model to urban implementation. Acquisitions are already being made, and I believe we will have the necessary equipment soon.
Diálogo: The U.S. Marine Corps and the Ecuadorian Marine Corps have a long history of partnership and participation in combined exercises such as UNITAS. How important are joint training exercises for improving interoperability, readiness, and understanding between the Ecuadorian Marine Corps, the United States, and their regional counterparts?
Col. Kon Becerra: It is absolutely key. As indicated in the plenary session, the physical presence of forces is vital. By bringing together forces with different, complementary capabilities to accomplish a mission, we truly understand where we stand and what we need. In conferences, we can discuss many issues on paper, but it is only by executing in the field that you realize how things really work.
That’s why these combined exercises with the United States and other countries of the Americas are fundamental for us. They allow us to test our real interoperability capacity, see what we lack, and also see what we can offer others. We don’t just come to receive; we also come to share our experience — things we’ve been doing for a long time that other countries haven’t started yet but will eventually have to.
Diálogo: Given the evolving security landscape, what are the most pressing threats you see on the horizon for Ecuador and the region? How essential are ongoing international partnerships to address them?
Col. Kon Becerra: Our threats are very clear: drug trafficking, illegal mining, illegal fishing, arms trafficking, and human trafficking. Across the region, one country may have a bit more of one threat than another, but these threats all exceed the capabilities of police authority and become a threat to sovereignty.
At that point, the Armed Forces must respond, as defending sovereignty and internal territory is our constitutional duty. However, we also know that our capabilities are limited. Therefore, we need to act with common strategies and policies.
Armed criminal or transnational groups don’t respect borders; for them, the entire territory is their operating area. While we have limitations with our borders, if we reach clear agreements — with established strategies and clear policies defining the limits of cooperative action — I believe that with the support of the United States and the different Latin American countries, we can accomplish many positive things. We can confront and neutralize these threats or at least ensure that they revert to being a criminal problem that can be attacked and eliminated with normal means, rather than a problem of sovereignty.
