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U.S., Ecuador carry out joint "lethal kinetic operations" to combat drug trafficking, video shows

/ CBS/AFP

U.S. and Ecuadoran forces conducted joint strikes inside Ecuador as part of ongoing operations to combat drug trafficking in the South American country, according to a statement by U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM).

The said SOUTHCOM Commander General Francis Donovan, at the order of Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, "directed the joint force to support Ecuadorian forces conducting lethal kinetic operations against Designated Terrorist Organizations within Ecuador March 6."

The post included video showing multiple targets exploding and being destroyed. No details on casualties were immediately provided.

"At the request of Ecuador, the Department of War executed targeted action to advance our shared objective of dismantling narco-terrorist networks," Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell wrote in a  posted to X.

Ecuador's right-wing President Daniel Noboa  the strikes targeted a training camp belonging to a dissident faction of the FARC guerilla group.

The operation was carried out in the northeastern province of Sucumbios near the border with Colombia.

"We destroyed the hideout of Mono Tole, the leader of the CDF (Border Commandos), and a training area for drug traffickers," the 38-year-old leader wrote in the post, which was accompanied by a video of a house exploding in a forested area.

"I congratulate our joint forces and the Ecuadorian armed forces for the successful operation against narcoterrorists in Ecuador," Donovan said in a statement.

"This collaborative and decisive action is a strategic success for all nations in the Western Hemisphere committed to disrupting and defeating narcoterrorism."

Noboa, a close ally of President Trump, previously said that Washington was among "regional allies" taking part in the operation against drug cartels, which use Ecuador's ports to smuggle cocaine to international markets.

On Saturday, Noboa posted an image of himself standing next to Mr. Trump.

"For too long the mafias believed America was their territory. They could cross borders, move drugs, guns and violence without consequences," he .

Noboa earlier this week held talks in Quito with Donovan and Mark Schafer, head of U.S. Special Operations in Central and South America and the Caribbean. They discussed plans for information sharing and operational coordination at airports and seaports, Noboa's office said in a statement.

Around 70% of the drugs produced by Colombia and Peru, the world's largest and second-largest cocaine producers, respectively, are shipped through neighboring Ecuador.

The drug trade has unleashed a bloody turf war that has turned one of Latin America's safest countries into one of its deadliest in the space of a few years.

The United States and Ecuador have boosted their security cooperation since the right-wing Noboa came to power in 2023.

Last week, Ecuadorian forces sank a "narco sub" near its northern border as the nation works with the United States military to crack down on organized crime in the country.

Ecuador's Defense Ministry  that a "military operation enabled the discovery of a clandestine camp and narco-vessel" in the Cayapas–Mataje mangrove forest that was ready to be used for "illicit activities." 

Meanwhile, the U.S. military said it killed six men Sunday in a strike on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

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© 2026 91³Ô¹ÏÍø. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.

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