This week, the United States and Ecuador announced they’ve launched a joint military operation to fight narcoterrorism in the South American nation.
The U.S. Southern Command (Southcom)—which oversees U.S. military activity in Latin America and the Caribbean—said in a on Tuesday that Ecuadorian and American forces began operations that day “against Designated Terrorist Organizations in Ecuador.”
“These operations are a strong example of the commitment from partners in Latin America and the Caribbean to combat the scourge of narco-terrorism,” Southcom stated in the press release. “Together, we’re taking decisive action to confront narco-terrorists who have long inflicted terror, violence, and corruption on citizens across the hemisphere.”
Southcom also shared a on X showing a helicopter taking flight and picking up service members. The command did not explain what the video depicted or how it related to the Ecuador operation.
Officials have released little information about the military operation so far. Here’s what we know.
What we know about the joint operations in Ecuador
said in a on X this week that Ecuador will conduct “joint operations with our regional allies, including the United States” in March. He provided no details about the operation’s scale or intended targets.
“The security of Ecuadorians is our top priority, and we will fight to achieve peace in every corner of the country,” he said in his post. “To reach that peace, we must act forcefully against criminals, wherever they are. The pursuit of justice and national dignity will never be persecution—instead, it’s a promise we will keep to Ecuadorians.”
The Trump Administration has not publicly shared how the U.S. military is involved in the Ecuador operation. But an American official, speaking to the on condition of anonymity, said that in the months leading up to this week’s announcement, U.S. Special Forces assisted Ecuadorian soldiers in preparing for raids. The official told the Times that American service members have been deployed to support the Ecuadorian military in the operation—which reportedly targets drug facilities run by violent gangs—but U.S. troops will not take direct part in the operation.
Trump’s expanding war on drug cartels
The joint military operation in Ecuador is the latest step the Trump Administration has taken to crack down on drug trafficking in Latin America.
One of President Donald Trump’s top aides, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, told Latin American defense leaders on Thursday that military action is necessary to combat drug cartels.
“After decades of effort, we’ve learned there is no criminal justice solution to the cartel problem,” Miller . “This is a conference with military leadership—not lawyers—because these organizations can only be defeated with military power.”
In recent months, the Trump Administration has significantly increased U.S. military presence and activity in the region, describing the moves as part of an effort to take down cartels and stop drugs from flowing into the U.S. Starting in September, the Administration authorized in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean targeting dozens of boats it has . In a confidential fall notice to Congress, the Administration said Trump had determined the U.S. is in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels. The President also targeted former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro—whom the U.S. accused of leading a drug trafficking organization—in a months-long that culminated in a major U.S. military operation in the South American nation earlier this year, resulting in Maduro’s . U.S. officials transported Maduro to New York, where he not guilty to drug trafficking charges in court.
The U.S. also provided the Mexican government with “intelligence support” to “assist” in the operation where Mexican forces Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes—the drug kingpin known as “El Mencho”—in February, according to . American troops did not physically participate in that operation, however.
In a new released late last year, the Trump Administration framed U.S. military actions targeting cartels as part of a broader shift in U.S. foreign policy toward the region. The document laid out plans for the U.S. to reassert its “preeminence” in the Western Hemisphere, including enlisting regional partners to “control migration, stop drug flows, and strengthen stability and security on land and sea” and shifting global military presence to the area “to address urgent threats.”
It also explicitly called for “targeted deployments to secure the border and defeat cartels, including where necessary the use of lethal force to replace the failed law enforcement-only strategy of the last several decades.”
Many tactics the Trump Administration has used in its escalating war on drugs have drawn significant pushback from lawmakers, voters, other foreign leaders, and legal experts—including the on alleged drug boats and the operation that led to . “The Secretary-General is deeply alarmed by the recent escalation in Venezuela, culminating in today’s United States military action in the country, which has potentially worrying implications for the region,” Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the U.N. secretary-general, said following the U.S. strikes on Venezuela. “Regardless of the situation in Venezuela, these developments set a dangerous precedent.”