Ecuador’s President Calls for US Special Forces to Help Fight War on Drug Gangs

Noboa said he hoped President Donald Trump would designate Los Lobos, Los Choneros, and Los Tiguerones as terrorist groups.

Ecuadorian security forces participate in a joint operation to search for drugs and weapons in a low-income neighborhood, in Duran, Ecuador, on March 14, 2025. Santiago Arcos/Reuters

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa said he wants special forces troops from the United States, Brazil, and Europe to come to his country and help his government fight a war against drug gangs.

In an interview with the BBC, published on March 19, Noboa also said he wanted President Donald Trump to designate several Ecuadorian gangs as terrorist groups, as he has done for several Mexican, El Salvadoran, and Venezuelan cartels and gangs.