U.S. Foreign Military Operations

U.S. Southern Command announced that U.S. and Ecuadorian forces have begun joint military operations in Ecuador targeting Los Choneros and Los Lobos — two of Ecuador’s largest drug gangs that the U.S. has designated as terrorist organizations — and officials say the effort is part of the Trump administration’s broader expansion of the U.S. campaign against Latin American drug traffickers. The operations, described by SOUTHCOM and Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa as a "new phase" against narco‑terrorism, follow meetings between SOUTHCOM chief Gen. Francis Donovan and Noboa in Quito and involve Ecuadorian military and police, temporary incorporation of foreign special forces and coordination with regional partners and law‑enforcement agencies that have recently dismantled networks linked to Los Lobos.