Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrapped up his travels to Latin America on Thursday with a press conference in Ecuador, alongside Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld. As he has done all week, Rubio made it clear that the Donald Trump administration is ramping up the war on narco-terrorists and not planning to let up anytime soon.
During today’s press conference, Rubio announced that he will designate two rival Ecuadorian gangs — Los Choneros and Los Lobos — as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs). Not only do they destabilize their own region with violence and other criminal activity, but they have ties to more significant SDGTs, like Mexico’s Cártel de Sinaloa and Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, and they play a role in trafficking illicit drugs to the United States. Here’s more from the State Department:
Los Choneros and Los Lobos have attacked and threatened public officials and their families, security personnel, judges, prosecutors, and journalists in Ecuador. Both Los Choneros and Los Lobos are linked to U.S.-designated FTOs and SDGTs Cártel de Sinaloa and Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación. Their ultimate goal is to control drug trafficking routes through Ecuador by terrorizing and inflicting brutal violence on the Ecuadorian people. In July, U.S. and Ecuadorian authorities cooperated to extradite the leader of Los Choneros, Fito Macias, who was the first Ecuadorian citizen extradited from Ecuador to face justice in the United States
Rubio announced that the U.S. will provide “$13.5 million to help Ecuador improve its ability to provide security for its citizens and take on and combat drugs and crime and another six million in UAVs for the navy here in Ecuador, again giving them domain awareness and the opportunity to really track these because these are all very important.” He added, “And we’re gonna do more. There’s more coming, but that’s an important step that we wanted to take here today, and I’m proud to announce it.”
He also said something that I have seen many on the left either misunderstand or purposely choose to ignore. We are at war with these narco-terrorists. That means we play by different rules.
“We’re ready to support what is frankly. it’s a war,” Rubio said. “It’s a war on killers; it’s a war on terrorists. These are not narco-traffickers; these are narco-terrorists who terrorize the countries they operate in.” Here’s the video of his entire remarks on this:
.@SecRubio: “Today we have designated as terrorist organizations two groups that operate here in Ecuadorian territory, one is Los Lobos and the other is Los Choneros.” He also announces more than $19 million the U.S. is investing in Ecuador to combat crime. pic.twitter.com/9TK23d2t18
— CSPAN (@cspan) September 4, 2025
Rubio mentioned that the U.S. and Ecuador are close to a trade agreement — the U.S. is Ecuador’s top trade partner —and he emphasized how important the relationship between the two countries is for numerous reasons.
I just want to add a little background here for those who probably wonder why we should care about this country or why any of this matters: Ecuador was once considered the most peaceful country in Latin America — as recently as earlier this century. Today, it’s one of the most violent countries in Latin America and has one of the highest murder rates in the world. The reason for this is organized crime. Criminals from other South American countries have ruined it, turning it into a hub for trafficking cocaine to the United States and Europe. Mass migration from countries like Venezuela have also created hardships on infrastructure and a general humanitarian crisis.
All of this impacts the United States. It impacts the flow of drugs into our country, it impacts illegal mass migration into our country, and it impacts our economy. Having stronger Western Hemisphere allies in general makes our country more stable and secure, and helping Ecuador combat these issues is in our national interest.
Anyway, I’ll leave you with a little treat. It’s not quite the “Mad Marco” moment the secretary gave us yesterday, but Rubio schooled a reporter who asked a dimwitted question — Rubio called it “fake reporting” — about the military attack on the cartel boat earlier this week. Rubio actually uttered the beautiful words, “I don’t care what the UN says. The UN doesn’t know what they’re talking about” as a part of his response. It’s a must watch!
🔥@SecRubio: “I don’t care what the UN says. The UN doesn’t know what they’re talking about … Maduro is an indicted drug trafficker in the United States and he’s a fugitive of American justice.” pic.twitter.com/SRrQg7SyMW
— Department of State (@StateDept) September 4, 2025
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