Drug Cartels and Narco‑Terrorism

On March 6 U.S. and Ecuadorian forces carried out a joint "lethal kinetic" strike in Sucumbíos province near the Colombian border that Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa said destroyed the hideout of "Mono Tole," the alleged leader of the Border Commandos (a dissident FARC faction); SOUTHCOM said the operation was ordered by Gen. Francis Donovan at the direction of U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Noboa posted video of a house exploding. The strike is part of an intensified U.S.–Ecuador security partnership since Noboa took office and a broader U.S. campaign framed by the Trump administration as targeting "narcoterrorists," which has also included U.S. strikes on suspected drug-smuggling vessels in the eastern Pacific that have killed multiple people and drawn criticism over lack of publicly released evidence and rules-of-engagement concerns.