US and Ecuadorean forces launched joint operations to combat drug trafficking, the US Southern Command said on Tuesday, but neither side gave more details.
Southern Command, which encompasses 31 countries through South and Central America and the Caribbean, said in a statement on X that the “decisive action” was aimed at combating illicit drug trafficking.
The Ecuador defense ministry said details of the offensive operations were classified.
The announcement of the military action was made after Ecuador’s president, Daniel Noboa, 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 specializing 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.