US, Ecuador take action to combat Ecuadorian drug trafficking rings

Ecuadorean and US forces launched joint operations to combat drug trafficking, the US Southern Command said on Tuesday, but neither side gave more details.

The Southern Command, which is the US military's combatant command that encompasses 31 countries through South and Central America and the Caribbean, said in a statement on social media website X that the action was meant to combat illicit drug trafficking.

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Ecuador’s Defence Ministry said in a statement it was working with the US in an “offensive” operation and added that details were classified.

The announcement came after President Daniel Noboa had said on Monday that his government would conduct joint operations with the US and other allies in March, framing the effort as “a new phase against narco-terrorism and illegal mining.”

A new US-military-led task force specialising in intelligence collection on drug cartels played a role in the Mexican military raid that killed elusive crime boss Nemesio Oseguera, alias "El Mencho," last month, the biggest takedown of a cartel kingpin in at least a decade.