Ecuador is cementing its strategy in the “internal armed conflict” against transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) with renewed international commitment. In a pivotal step that underscores the grave regional nature of the crisis, the nation recently formalized a critical anti-organized crime agreement with the Organization of American States (OAS), adding a crucial layer of long-term security cooperation to its ongoing military operations.
President Daniel Noboa’s bold declaration of war in January 2024, which elevated 22 criminal gangs to the status of terrorist groups, continues to define the national security landscape. The government maintains a high operational tempo under successive states of emergency, including recent decrees in coastal provinces, allowing the military to remain deployed against the TCOs that have destabilized the country. “We are at war. We are facing an offensive from criminal groups and now it is our turn to launch a counter-offensive,” President Noboa affirmed earlier this year. The current focus is on translating that military posture into lasting institutional victories.
The new front: Judicial and hemispheric cooperation
The new OAS agreement, formalized in late October, is key to achieving this shift. It targets the structural vulnerabilities exploited by crime — corruption, weak investigations, and insufficient judicial capacity. The agreement aims to strengthen the capacity of Ecuador’s judicial system to address security threats, boost the efficiency of criminal investigations, and increase public confidence in the rule of law. The OAS brings specialized tools to combat illicit financial flows, including assistance in money laundering detection and asset recovery, directly attacking the TCOs’ economic lifeline.
The OAS initiative complements the existing, robust support from the United States, which solidified its alliance in September 2025 by designating Ecuadorian gangs, Los Choneros and Los Lobos, as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). This powerful designation unlocks greater mechanisms for intelligence sharing against groups that threaten the entire region, such as the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the Sinaloa Cartel, and the Venezuelan terrorist organization Tren de Aragua.
TCOs fueled by record supply
The necessity of this heightened international collaboration is driven by the unprecedented scale of the narcotics trade. Colombia continues to be the world’s largest producer of coca. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC) World Drug Report 2025, which features the latest available data, indicates that in 2023, coca cultivation in Colombia increased to 253,000 hectares, leading to a potential production of 2,664 metric tons of pure cocaine. This massive supply directly feeds the TCO violence spilling across borders.
Ecuadorian forces, backed by international partners, are hitting back by disrupting this flow. The collaboration has already yielded results in disrupting these criminal supply chains. This commitment was highlighted by recent cooperation with Europol, which led to the seizure of 80 tons of drugs and 36 arrests in March 2025, proving that intelligence-sharing is key to combating the vast scope of the narcotraffickers’ logistics. This follows earlier victories, including the record seizure of 22 tons of cocaine in a farm in Los Ríos province in January 2024.
Reinforced borders and a war of endurance
To sustain the pressure, Ecuador is moving forward with its plan to establish provisional military bases on the border with Peru, specifically in Pasaje and Puerto Bolívar (El Oro province). These bases are aimed at securing the port infrastructure that TCOs use to traffic large shipments of cocaine disguised among major export products.
Puerto Bolívar, located in Machala, capital of the El Oro province, was once a gastronomic and tourist destination. Now it faces an unprecedented security crisis, with violence stemming from the dispute between criminal groups operating in its fishing port. Dozens of families have abandoned their homes due to the increase in murders and coordinated bomb attacks on homes and businesses, forcing security forces to intensify patrols.
The new bases will allow intelligence operations to be carried out in cooperation with the United States, utilizing tools like the newly supplied naval drones (UAVs) to provide enhanced “domain awareness” and locate criminal activity. As a final sign of commitment, President Noboa is pushing forward with a proposed referendum that seeks to lift the constitutional ban on foreign military bases on Ecuadorian soil, a political move that prepares the nation to permanently redefine its security policy to accommodate the ongoing war.
The latest OAS agreement confirms that the region views this as a shared battle, establishing the consensus that multilateral cooperation is the only path to restoring security and sovereignty.
