Ecuador’s campaign against narco-terrorism has entered a new phase as authorities intensify operations against transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) responsible for drug trafficking, violence, and corruption across the region.
Security forces have expanded coordinated operations against major criminal groups, strengthened maritime surveillance along key trafficking routes, and deepened cooperation with international partners — particularly the United States —to dismantle transnational criminal networks operating in and through the country.
Strengthening operations
Ecuadorian authorities have stepped up operations against some of the country’s most powerful criminal groups, including Los Choneros and Los Lobos, organizations linked to international drug trafficking networks and violent crime.
Both groups — which the Ecuadorian government classifies as terrorist organizations — were also designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) by the United States in early September 2025, a move that expanded legal and operational tools available to partner nations working to dismantle these networks.
In response to the escalating threat posed by these groups, Ecuador has increasingly relied on joint police-military operations to confront TCOs that operate with military-grade weapons and organized command structures.
“These are terrorist organizations that seek to instill fear in the population and possess enormous financial resources and military capabilities comparable to those of an army,” Ecuador Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo Rendón said in an interview with Diálogo. “That is why they must be confronted accordingly.”
Large-scale security operations carried out across several provinces — including in Guayas, Esmeraldas, Manabí, and Los Ríos — have targeted gang leadership, weapons stockpiles, and trafficking infrastructure.
Authorities say the campaign has produced significant enforcement results. Since the start of the government’s security offensive against organized crime, more than 30,000 individuals have been detained in operations linked to the internal armed conflict. In a more recent multinational investigation in early March targeting a cocaine trafficking network linked to Los Lobos, authorities arrested 16 suspects and seized more than 7 tons of cocaine in coordinated operations across Europe and Latin America.
Efforts have also targeted the leadership structures of these organizations. In November 2025, Wilmer “Pipo” Chavarría, a top leader of Los Lobos, was arrested in Spain in a joint operation with Ecuadorian and Spanish authorities as part of a broader international investigation into the group’s drug-trafficking operations.
Security officials say such operations demonstrate how coordinated enforcement actions and international cooperation can weaken the command structures and trafficking networks that sustain narco-terrorist organizations.
“Cooperation is essential,” Minister Loffredo said. “We work very closely with the United States and with U.S. Southern Command [SOUTHCOM], which also coordinates with other countries in the region. With some partners we maintain bilateral relationships that allow us to exchange information directly, but SOUTHCOM plays a vital role as an active and leading actor in this information chain that makes interdictions possible.”
Joint operations with the United States
International cooperation has become a central pillar of Ecuador’s strategy to confront narco-terrorism.
In early March, Ecuadorian security forces launched joint operations with the United States targeting narco-terrorist organizations operating within the country. The operations have been carried out in coordination with the U.S. military and include intelligence sharing, operational planning, and specialized support.
“We commend the men and women of the Ecuadorian Armed Forces for their unwavering commitment to this fight, demonstrating courage and resolve through continued actions against narco-terrorists in their country,” U.S. Marine Corps General Francis L. Donovan, SOUTHCOM commander, said via X.
One of the operations targeted a narco-trafficking training camp near the Colombian border linked to the criminal group Comandos de la Frontera, a network associated with cross-border cocaine trafficking routes. The operation, dubbed Total Extermination (Operación Exterminio Total) was carried out in early March. Helicopters, drones, aircraft, and riverine forces were deployed to dismantle the infrastructure used to train and support traffickers.
Another operation targeted maritime trafficking infrastructure used by TCOs operating along Ecuador’s northern border. In early March, units of the Ecuadorian Navy located and destroyed a narco-submarine and a nearby drug-smuggling camp in the Cayapas-Mataje ecological reserve, an area frequently used by traffickers moving cocaine through Pacific routes. Authorities said the semi-submersible vessel was capable of transporting multi-ton shipments of narcotics and was part of a larger trafficking network operating near the Colombian border.
Maritime surveillance and interdiction
One of Ecuador’s most significant challenges in confronting drug trafficking is the scale of its maritime territory and the number of trafficking routes that cross the Pacific.
According to Minister Loffredo, Ecuador’s maritime territory is several times larger than its land territory, making surveillance and interdiction operations a complex task for security forces.
“We have identified maritime drug trafficking corridors — where they operate, the routes they use, and where vessels refuel before continuing their journey,” Loffredo said.
Cooperation with the United States has helped Ecuador strengthen maritime surveillance and interdiction capabilities through intelligence sharing, training programs, and equipment transfers, including patrol vessels used to intercept trafficking vessels operating along the Pacific coast.
Ecuadorian authorities say such cooperation is producing tangible results at sea. In mid-March, in yet another operation, the Ecuadorian Navy — with support from U.S. Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF-S) — intercepted about 1.6 tons of narcotics about 130 nautical miles off Ecuador’s coast after traffickers discarded the shipment while attempting to evade patrols.
“Any additional capability that strengthens our ability to control these territorial waters is crucial,” Minister Loffredo said.
Expanding international cooperation
Ecuador’s campaign against narco-terrorism increasingly relies on cooperation with international partners.
Security leaders from across the hemisphere recently gathered for the Americas Counter-Cartel Conference at the SOUTHCOM headquarters, an initiative aimed at strengthening intelligence sharing and operational coordination against criminal organizations operating throughout the region.
The conference was followed by the creation of a Counter-Cartel Coalition, designed to expand collaboration among partner nations confronting TCOs.
Ecuadorian analyst Jean Paul Pinto said such cooperation can play a decisive role in dismantling criminal networks.
“Mechanisms such as extradition and intelligence cooperation can be decisive in confronting transnational criminal organizations,” Pinto told Diálogo. “International collaboration not only allows the exchange of information but also strengthens judicial systems to combat corruption and dismantle drug trafficking networks.”
A shared effort to defeat narco-terrorism
Security officials say the fight against narco-terrorism will require sustained cooperation among governments throughout the Americas.
As criminal networks continue to evolve and expand across borders, authorities increasingly emphasize the importance of coordinated action to dismantle trafficking routes, disrupt criminal finances, and strengthen institutional capabilities. For Ecuador, continued collaboration with regional partners and the United States remains a central element of efforts to confront TCOs and strengthen security across the hemisphere.
Speaking during the Americas Counter-Cartel Conference, Minister Loffredo emphasized that confronting narco-terrorism requires sustained cooperation.
“Narco-terrorist organizations not only traffic drugs; they challenge the legitimate authority of the state and affect the freedom and prosperity of our citizens,” Minister Loffredo said. “The security of our hemisphere is indivisible. Every nation that strengthens its capacities contributes to regional stability.”
