In a significant escalation in the U.S. campaign against narco-violence in Latin America, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced today that the United States has officially declared the Ecuadorian criminal groups Los Choneros and Los Lobos as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs).
Rubio made the declaration while visiting Quito, the Ecuadorian capital, to meet President Daniel Noboa. He delivered a stern warning that this move "brings 'all sorts of options' for the U.S. to work in conjunction with Ecuador to crack down on these groups," including the ability to target assets and even consider lethal action if deemed necessary.
The meeting comes after touching down in Mexico yesterday to conference with President Claudia Sheinbaum to address cartel violence. This is the Secretary of State's second visit to Latin America this year. Last week, Rubio stepped down as head of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Violence in Ecuador has spiked since the COVID‑19 pandemic, driven by narco‑traffickers exploiting the country's banana export routes and weak institutional controls. Global cartels from Mexico and the Balkans have entrenched themselves there, leveraging local gangs like Los Choneros and Los Lobos to enforce territorial control through terror, extortion, and mass violence.
Ecuador, a major banana exporter, became a prime transit hub for cocaine shipments, making it an attractive target for organized crime networks. President Noboa has likewise responded with emergency measures, extraditions, and military‑police cooperation.
In May 2024, President Noboa declared a state of emergency in seven provinces and formally classified 22 gangs, including Los Choneros and Los Lobos, as terrorist organizations after an eruption of violence occurred, triggered by the escape of gang boss José Adolfo "Fito" Macías from prison.
Who are Los Choneros and Los Lobos?
Los Choneros, founded in 2005 in Ecuador's Manabí Province, evolved into a sprawling criminal syndicate under leader José Adolfo "Fito" Macías. The gang engages in drug trafficking, prison-based violence, extortion, and more, maintaining alliances with powerful cartels like Sinaloa.
Los Lobos, established in 2020, emerged as a splinter group from Los Choneros following the latter's internal breakups. The group has more than 8,000 members and operates in key cities such as Latacunga, Cuenca, and Machala. They, too, are heavily involved in drug exportation and prison riots, including the catastrophic 2021 Litoral Penitentiary massacre, where over 120 inmates were killed.
At the federal level, the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had already sanctioned both gangs in 2024 under its terrorism and criminal statutes. The latest State Department action now elevates the designations to Foreign Terrorist Organizations, a legal status that carries more robust counterterrorism tools.
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