US Seeks Additional Funding to Combat Los Tiguerones in Ecuador

The United States has designated Ecuador’s Los Tiguerones gang as a terrorist organization, marking a significant escalation in the Trump administration’s efforts to combat narcotics trafficking across Latin America.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the designation during meetings in Quito with Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa. The announcement comes as part of a broader strategic realignment in the region, where the administration is cultivating security partnerships with conservative governments that share Washington’s approach to combating drug cartels and illegal migration.

Los Tiguerones gained international notoriety in 2024 when heavily armed members stormed TC Televisión during a live news broadcast. The brazen attack, which unfolded before cameras broadcasting across Ecuador and subsequently around the world, featured gang members wielding an arsenal that included pistols, shotguns, machine guns, grenades, and explosives. The images served as a stark illustration of the security crisis facing Ecuador.

“We are not talking about an ordinary mafia, nor are we talking about common criminals,” Rubio stated in Quito. “We are talking about terrorists who, in many cases, possess weapons and equipment resembling the national armies of certain countries.”

The television station assault prompted President Noboa to declare a state of internal armed conflict. Ecuadorian authorities have attributed the deteriorating security situation to foreign drug trafficking organizations seeking control of critical smuggling routes. Ecuador sits between Colombia and Peru, the world’s primary coca-producing nations, making it a crucial transit point for narcotics destined for American markets.

The terrorist designation carries significant implications beyond symbolic value. Rubio announced the administration would seek forty-five million dollars in additional congressional funding specifically earmarked for dismantling Los Tiguerones and similar organizations. While the Secretary of State did not elaborate on operational details, he indicated that American and Ecuadorian elite forces are now conducting joint operations on an unprecedented scale.

“We are working jointly on a day-to-day basis in a way that has no precedent,” Rubio told reporters, “in order to try to dismantle these terrorist organizations.”

The designation of Los Tiguerones forms part of the administration’s “Shield of the Americas” initiative, which seeks to strengthen security cooperation with ideologically aligned governments throughout Latin America. Ecuador has emerged as what Rubio termed the administration’s most “aggressive” partner in military operations against suspected drug traffickers.

Those operations have included controversial naval strikes against vessels suspected of drug trafficking. The Trump administration reports that these actions have resulted in the deaths of at least two hundred twenty-seven individuals it identifies as drug traffickers, though specific evidence supporting these characterizations has not been made public.

Rubio’s three-nation tour, which began Tuesday, reflects a broader political realignment across Latin America. The Secretary of State visited Colombia, where he met with newly inaugurated President Abelardo De La Espriella, who defeated leftist candidate Gustavo Petro in June elections. The Trump administration maintained notably cool relations with Petro during his previous political prominence.

The administration’s approach represents a calculated effort to forge partnerships with conservative regional leaders who support aggressive law enforcement measures against narcotics trafficking and organized crime. For Washington, these partnerships serve dual purposes: disrupting drug flows to American communities while simultaneously addressing illegal migration patterns that originate in or transit through Central and South America.

As the war on drugs enters this new phase, the question remains whether designating criminal organizations as terrorist entities and intensifying military cooperation will prove more effective than previous strategies. What is certain is that the Trump administration has committed itself to this approach and is investing considerable diplomatic and financial resources in its success.