U.S., Ecuador conduct joint operations against drug cartels in Esmeraldas

Ecuadorian decree allows U.S. military personnel 180-day visa-free stay

Ecuador’s Defense Ministry announced Friday that it is conducting joint military operations with U.S. Southern Command against drug cartels in the coastal province of Esmeraldas, on Ecuador’s northern border with Colombia. Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo said three Black Hawk helicopters and two U.S. warships have arrived at the port of Manta under the arrangement.

The operations target trafficking organizations that the ministry said have “plagued” Esmeraldas with killings, kidnappings and extortion. Criminal groups use the province’s Pacific ports to ship drugs to the United States and Europe, according to the ministry.

Speaking in a video posted on X with military-style music playing in the background, Loffredo said: “We are going to triple our interdiction capabilities in the maritime zone.”

The activities fall under the “Shield of the Americas” alliance, a U.S.-led coalition of about 20 Latin American and Caribbean countries formed to combat drug trafficking, UPI reported.

Earlier this week, the Ecuadorian government issued a decree allowing U.S. military personnel to stay in the country for up to 180 days without visas and exempting them from immigration requirements, according to the local broadcaster Teleamazonas.

Esmeraldas provincial Governor Juan Jaramillo told local reporters that U.S. Southern Command personnel have been operating in the province for some time. Jaramillo did not specify when the personnel were deployed, how many are participating or how long they will remain.

Jaramillo said U.S. forces have conducted intelligence operations alongside the Ecuadorian Navy and will focus primarily on the cantons of San Lorenzo and Eloy Alfaro, two areas that the governor identified as affected by drug trafficking and illegal mining, according to the Colombian radio station La FM.

The governor also highlighted Colombia’s participation, saying police and armed forces from both countries are sharing intelligence, information and operational targets. He linked the cooperation to Colombia’s new political landscape following Abelardo de la Espriella’s inauguration as president of Colombia.

U.S. and Ecuadorian forces have been running joint operations against criminal groups in Ecuador for several months, even as the country has struggled with a wave of violence. Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has pursued a tough-on-crime strategy since taking office in 2023, but the country’s homicide rate reached a record 52 killings per 100,000 people last year, UPI reported.