Rubio Names Ecuador's Los Tiguerones a Terrorist Group on South America Tour
In Quito, Rubio said he would seek $45 million in new security aid for Ecuador. In Lima, Peru confirmed it is joining the Shield of the Americas, which now counts 15 nations.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrapped up a three-country swing through South America this week after designating an Ecuadorian drug gang as a foreign terrorist organization, pledging new security money for Quito and adding Peru to a U.S.-backed coalition against organized crime.
The trip, which took Rubio to Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, was built around the Trump administration's campaign against drug trafficking in the hemisphere. It also had a second purpose: persuading governments that have taken large amounts of Chinese investment to line up more closely with Washington.
A terror label for Los Tiguerones
In Quito on Wednesday, Rubio met President Daniel Noboa and announced that the State Department was designating Los Tiguerones as a foreign terrorist organization. The group is involved in cocaine trafficking, extortion, contract killings, arms trafficking and money laundering. Its members drew international attention in January 2024, when armed men stormed an Ecuadorian television studio during a live broadcast.
Los Tiguerones was already one of 22 criminal groups that Ecuador itself labeled as terrorist organizations in 2024, after Noboa declared an internal armed conflict in response to a surge in gang violence.
Rubio said he would ask Congress for $45 million in additional counternarcotics and security assistance for Ecuador. He praised the level of cooperation between the two countries' security services, saying elite units were working together daily in a way that has no precedent. The State Department has described Ecuador as its best ally in the region in confronting criminal groups.
That cooperation already extends to the water. Ecuadorian authorities have been helping U.S. forces intercept and sink vessels suspected of carrying drugs. On Tuesday a boat allegedly linked to another gang, Los Choneros, was sunk, the sixth such operation in less than two weeks.
Colombia resets, Peru signs on
In the Caribbean city of Barranquilla, Rubio met Colombia's new president, Abelardo de la Espriella, whose election has warmed relations that had cooled under his predecessor, Gustavo Petro. Rubio spoke of a golden era in ties between the two countries.
De la Espriella confirmed that Colombia will take part in the Shield of the Americas, the security coalition Washington launched in March, and said Medellín would host one of its operational headquarters. The two governments also signed agreements on critical minerals and civilian nuclear energy. U.S. support will take the form of intelligence, equipment and training rather than American combat troops.
The Colombian leader also signaled that he wants more than security cooperation, saying the relationship should bring more trade, investment and jobs.
The tour ended in Lima, where the government of President Keiko Fujimori, who took office on July 28, confirmed that Peru is joining the Shield of the Americas. The coalition now has 15 member countries and focuses on intelligence sharing and coordinated action against transnational crime.
The China factor
Throughout the trip, Rubio criticized Chinese companies operating in Latin America, accusing them of saddling countries with predatory debt and causing environmental damage, and presented U.S. investment as a transparent alternative.
Beijing pushed back. China's embassy in Lima said Latin America is "nobody's backyard" and that countries in the region are free to choose their own partners.
Peru is a particularly sensitive case. It has absorbed major Chinese infrastructure investment, and analysts see it as balancing between Beijing's commercial presence and Washington's security pressure.
What happens next
The $45 million for Ecuador will need approval from Congress. The terrorist designation of Los Tiguerones gives U.S. authorities broader tools to pursue the gang's finances and anyone who provides it with material support.
The Shield of the Americas is expected to move from sign-ups to operations, with Medellín set to host one of its headquarters. How far Colombia and Peru are willing to go in distancing themselves from Chinese investment, while deepening security ties with Washington, will be one of the tests of the coalition's reach.
Image: Taty2007 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
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