Ecuador and the U.S. destroy alleged drug trafficking base near the Colombian border

The United States and Ecuador carried out joint air strikes Friday and Saturday inside Ecuador as part of a recently announced operation targeting drug trafficking and illegal mining, the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said Saturday. The strikes, by U.S. and Ecuadorian aircraft, were conducted in Sucumbios Province, close to the Colombian border.

Smoke rises from a facility allegedly used by drug traffickers following a Friday air strike. The location is in Province Sucumbios, on the Colombian border.

SOUTHCOM said that its commander, General Francis Donovan directed the joint force to support Ecuadorian forces conducting what it called “lethal kinetic operations against Designated Terrorist Organizations” within Latin American countries. “We are advancing alongside our partners in the fight against narcoterrorism,” the statement posted on X said.

Helicopters, aircraft, river boats and drones were used to locate ​and bomb ‌a drug traffickers’ training camp in the area, Ecuador’s Defense Ministry said. According to Ecuadorian military authorities, the camp belonged to Colombian crime group Comandos de la Frontera (CDF), a dissident faction of the FARC guerrilla group.

“We destroyed the hideout of Mono Tole, the leader of the CDF, and a training area for drug traffickers,” President Daniel Noboa said on Instagram. He included a video of the compound in a forested area exploding, leaving a white plume of smoke. It was not immediately clear if anyone was killed or captured in the strikes.

Noboa, a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, has been working closely with U.S. authorities to stem the flow of drugs from his country to Europe and the United States. Ecuador has imposed states of emergency in several coastal provinces as well as nighttime curfews in major cities.

The Noboa administration has also levied tariffs on neighboring Colombia, accusing it of not doing enough to combat drug trafficking and illegal mining. Colombia President Gustavo Petro has responded with Colombian tariffs on Ecuadorian goods and accused Noboa of allowing massive amounts of cocaine to ship out of Ecuadorian ports.

Last Monday, Noboa held talks in the capital, Quito, with Donovan and Mark Schafer, head of U.S, Special Operations in Central and South America and the Caribbean. The three discussed plans for the sharing of information and operational coordination at airports and seaports, the Ecuadorian president’s office said in a statement.

Schafer said that the U.S. would not have “boots on the ground” in Ecuador, but would be assisting with intelligence and logistical support, including air support. It is unclear how many U.S. personnel are in Ecuador to assist the mission.

Noboa is attending the ​Trump administration’s “Shield of the Americas” meeting in Miami this weekend. The summit brings together 12 right-wing Latin American presidents with a focus on ‌regional security, drug trafficking and migration.