The United States Department of State announced this Wednesday that it has included the Ecuadorian criminal group Chone Killers on its list of Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). This gang is held responsible for "numerous attacks" against civilians, security forces, and "government officials," and Washington has highlighted the security cooperation between the Donald Trump Administration and the Ecuadorian Executive.
"The United States Department of State designates Chone Killers as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist," reads the statement released by the Department, which attributes to this "Ecuadorian gang (...) numerous attacks against civilians, law enforcement officers, and government officials, including high-profile assassinations of public officials."
The US diplomacy has recalled that Chone Killers emerged as a splinter group from Los Choneros -- also designated as a foreign terrorist organization -- from which it separated in 2020. Likewise, it has emphasized that the Trump Administration will maintain its "collaboration with Ecuador and President Daniel Noboa" with the aim of "protecting" the Western Hemisphere, "keeping illicit drugs out" of its streets, and "disrupting the funding sources of violent narcoterrorists."
On the other hand, the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, stated on social media, after the designation of Chone Killers was made public, that "Ecuadorian gangs" are allegedly "helping Mexican cartels transport and export illicit drugs to finance terrorism and criminal activities."
Less than an hour after that message, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador cited his statements to express its gratitude for "the firm support of the United States in President Daniel Noboa's decision to maintain a frontal fight against criminal organizations," alluding to the "internal armed conflict" declared by the head of state two weeks earlier.
In that context, the Ecuadorian Government had already advanced the deployment of "foreign personnel" from "cooperating states," who would have "immunity" in operations carried out under that framework. Noboa then explained that this device responded to "months of work," but "especially" to a "last meeting at the Pentagon," headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, with whose authorities security cooperation has been significantly strengthened.