Rubio to Seek $45 Million for Ecuador to Tackle Drug Trafficking

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa (R) and Secretary of State Marco Rubio hold a document related to Ecuador’s highest-ranking National Order of Merit, the Grand Cross, presented to Rubio, which he is wearing, at the Carondelet Palace in Quito, Ecuador, on Sept. 9, 2026. Dolores Ochoa/Pool via Reuters

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said he will ask Congress to approve $45 million in additional security funding for Ecuador to tackle illegal immigration and narco-trafficking, as part of the administration’s renewed engagement in Latin America.

Rubio’s comments came during a trip to Ecuador on Sept. 9, where he met with the country’s President Daniel Noboa, who he referred to as “a strong partner to the Trump Administration in securing our hemisphere and countering illegal immigration.”

Speaking alongside Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Roberto Kury, Rubio said that U.S. and Ecuadorian elite forces are working jointly to target narco-terrorists, which he said were causing harm to the South American country, other nations in the region, and the United States.

“I’m going to ask the United States Congress for 45 additional million dollars—to continue contributing towards this effort of dismantling these terrorist groups and finishing with them once and for all,” Rubio said, according to a transcript of the remarks published on the State Department’s website.

Rubio added that the Trump administration was launching a $10 million effort to tackle illegal mining in Ecuador, which was stealing the country’s riches.

“We do not have a better ally in the region with regards to confronting the big threat of criminal transnational organizations” than Ecuador, Rubio said, adding that the country has been one of those that is participating most actively in tackling transnational criminal activity.

The State Department said in a statement that during the trip he will talk about enhancing cooperation between the United States and South America in tackling narco-terrorism, deepening commercial relationships, and U.S. aid for Colombia following the earthquake.

Los Tiguerones Designated Terrorist Organization

Rubio on Sept. 9 also said that the United States has designated the Ecuador-based gang Los Tiguerones as a foreign terrorist organization, ⁠following similar designations made against two other Ecuador-based gangs in 2025.

Rubio said that the group was linked to narco-trafficking and numerous attacks targeting civilians, law enforcement officers, and journalists.

“The Trump Administration will continue to use all available tools to protect our nation by keeping illicit drugs off our streets and disrupting the revenue streams funding violent narcoterrorists,” he said.

US, Allies Working to Target Boats

In remarks to the press, Rubio explained that the Trump administration is now focused on working with allies in Latin America to conduct bilateral operations against narco-trafficking boats in these cooperating countries’ territorial waters.

“It’s a strike-by-strike or operation-by-operation determination, but again, understand the difference between that and what you saw early last year is those were unilateral operations in international waters,” Rubio said.

“The important point is that these routes are being disrupted,” Rubio said. “These routes are being ended.”

He added that the U.S. military will “still blow up ships if need be.”

Reuters contributed to this report.