U.S. Adds $45 Million in Security Aid to Ecuador and Transfers Vessels, as Lethal Boat Strikes in Latin American Waters Have Killed Over 220

According to Al Jazeera, U.S. Secretary of State Rubio announced in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, on the 9th that the Trump administration will provide Ecuador with $45 million in security assistance and launch a $10 million initiative to combat illegal gold mining, gang recruitment, and drug trafficking. During the visit, the U.S. side also transferred a Coast Guard patrol vessel and five interceptor boats to the Ecuadorian navy, on top of seven vessels delivered earlier this year.

The first leg of Rubio's South American trip was Colombia, after which he will travel to Peru. In Quito, Rubio designated the Ecuadorian drug trafficking group Los Tiguerones as a "foreign terrorist organization," accusing it of involvement in drug smuggling and the violent takeover of a television station in 2024. He also characterized the government of Ecuadorian President Noboa as the United States' "most engaged and aggressive partner" in dismantling criminal networks.

Ecuador is a member of the "Anti-Cartel Coalition of the Americas" (ACCA) created under the leadership of the Trump administration. Since Trump returned to the White House in 2025, the two countries have carried out joint military operations, with the U.S. side confirming in March this year that the cooperation continues. The day before Rubio announced the aid, U.S. forces intercepted a vessel allegedly linked to the Ecuadorian criminal group Los Choneros and handed the suspects over to Ecuadorian authorities—the sixth such operation in less than two weeks.

However, running parallel to the ramping up of aid is a series of lethal boat strikes carried out by the United States in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific under the banner of combating "drug terrorists." According to Al Jazeera's tally, since September 2, 2025, U.S. forces have carried out approximately 68 boat strikes in these waters, killing more than 220 people. Some of the victims' families—including those in Ecuador—have accused the U.S. side of attacking and killing fishermen with no ties to drug trafficking. In October 2025, an Ecuadorian who survived a boat strike was transferred back home and later released due to lack of evidence; legal experts have likened such strikes to extrajudicial killings, arguing that they violate international law.

In the face of the questions, Rubio argued in Quito: "Our target is not fishermen, but drug traffickers." He also said that the Latin American criminal groups designated as "foreign terrorist organizations" by the U.S. side "are not ordinary criminal organizations—they possess trans-regional terrorist capabilities and must be dismantled, must be defeated, and we are committed to doing so."

Since Noboa took office as president in 2023, Ecuador's security policy has shifted markedly to the right, with him characterizing his country's conflict with drug trafficking groups as a "state of war" and deploying thousands of soldiers and officers to crime hotspots. Ecuador's crime rate has risen sharply since the COVID-19 pandemic, and its Pacific ports are widely exploited by drug trafficking organizations—this domestic crisis has provided the political foundation for deep cooperation between Noboa and Washington.

However, whether the newly announced $45 million in aid requires approval from the U.S. Congress, as well as the final amount disbursed and implementation details, remains unclear; Rubio's description of Ecuador as the "most aggressive partner" also lacks independent assessment in terms of actual security outcomes. Meanwhile, in Latin American waters, the deaths of more than 220 people and the case of an Ecuadorian survivor released due to insufficient evidence have placed a spotlight on the systemic gaps in identity verification and legal accountability in the lethal strike operations.