In Quito visit, Marco Rubio said he would seek $45 million in additional security funding for Ecuador

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said during a visit to Ecuador on Wednesday that he would seek $45 million in additional security funding for the Latin American country, as well as additional equipment, to help tackle drug trafficking.

U.S. Secretary of State met Wednesday with President Daniel Noboa in Quito.

Rubio met with Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa during a tour of three Latin American countries with leaders closely aligned with U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration’s effort to reassert US dominance in the region.

Speaking after their meeting, Rubio said Washington was increasingly working with Noboa’s government to crack down on drug trafficking organizations, including with joint strikes on boats believed to be used by drug smugglers. “These are not ordinary groups. Clearly, they engage in common crime, but they have terrorist capabilities across the region, and that must be confronted. They must be dismantled, they must be defeated, and we are committed to doing that,” Rubio said.

During his visit to Quito, Rubio designated the Ecuador-based gang Los Tiguerones as a foreign terrorist organization, after similar designations were made against two other Ecuador-based gangs last year. The State Department said the group was linked to narcotrafficking and other illicit activity, including the live takeover of an Ecuadorian TV station in 2024.

Rubio also said the U.S. would also be imposing sanctions on seven former Ecuadorian officials involved in bribery.

The Trump administration would ask Congress for $45 million to fund new commitments for Ecuador, as well as a $10 million initiative targeting illegal gold mining, gang recruitment and illicit finance, Rubio said.

He said the US would deliver a 110-foot Coast Guard cutter and five interceptor vessels for the country’s navy, in addition to seven already delivered to Ecuador this year for the fight against maritime drug trafficking.

Noboa took office in 2023 vowing a crackdown on violence stemming from Ecuador’s increasing role as a drug transit hub, but rights advocates have raised concerns the heavy-handed approach has only created more chaos.

Boat strikes
Rubio, speaking to reporters in Quito, acknowledged that the U.S. campaign to strike suspected drug trafficking boats had shifted to joint strikes with Ecuador, and said decisions on targeting were made on a “strike-by-strike” basis and with the cooperation of Ecuador.  “Our goal is not to go after fishermen. Our goal is to go after drug traffickers,” he said in response to questions about criticism over the campaign.

The attacks on seven fishing boats, three of which were blown up, have been widely condemned by Ecuadorian fisherman and last week a judge in Manta questioned their legality. Neither the U.S. or Ecuador has presented evidence that the targeted boats were involved in drug trafficking.