US Pledges $45 Million in Security Funding and Naval Vessels to Support Ecuador's Crackdown on Crime

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Ecuador's capital, Quito, where he was welcomed by Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa at Carondelet Palace, the seat of Ecuador's government, on September 9. During the visit, the United States President Donald Trump’s administration announced it will seek $45m in security funding for Ecuador as part of cooperation with the country’s right-wing government.

Marco Rubio praised the government of President Daniel Noboa as the most involved and aggressive partner the US has worked with to dismantle criminal networks and bring fugitives to justice. Alongside the $45m security package, the US administration will launch a $10m initiative targeting illegal gold mining, gang recruitment, and drug trafficking. Furthermore, the US will provide a coast guard cutter ship and five interceptor vessels to Ecuador’s navy, supplementing seven vessels delivered earlier this year.

The visit to Ecuador is part of a larger three-day, three-country South American tour that included Colombia and will continue to Peru on Thursday. Security remains a central focus of the trip, with the US seeking to increase its influence across the Western Hemisphere through aggressive military actions. The Trump administration has designated several Latin American criminal organisations as foreign terrorist organisations, with Marco Rubio emphasizing the need to defeat and dismantle them.

During the Quito stop, Marco Rubio officially designated Los Tiguerones, an Ecuador-based drug trafficking ring, as a foreign terrorist organisation, citing narcotics trafficking and their involvement in a 2024 television station takeover. Under President Daniel Noboa, the youngest president in the country's modern history, Ecuador has adopted a hardline approach to combat a post-pandemic spike in crime, deploying military and police forces in what has been termed a state of war.

This strategy aligns closely with the security platform of the Trump administration, leading to joint military operations and Ecuador's participation in the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition (ACCC). Despite these collaborative anti-narcotics operations, both the US and Ecuador have faced accusations of human rights violations and extrajudicial killings regarding lethal boat strikes in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific Ocean, though Marco Rubio defended the campaign by stating its sole focus is targeting drug traffickers rather than fishermen.