U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced an intensified American campaign against drug-trafficking organizations in Ecuador, some of which are linked to international criminal networks, including the Albanian mafia.
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During a visit to Quito, Rubio said the United States would step up efforts against Ecuadorian groups that he described as heavily armed organizations operating more like armies than traditional criminal gangs.
The announcement comes as Ecuador remains a major transit hub for cocaine produced in Colombia and Peru and trafficked toward international markets, including Europe.
Ecuadorian criminal organizations have developed connections with international trafficking networks, including Albanian organized crime groups, making the country increasingly important in the global cocaine trade.
Rubio said Washington has designated Los Tiguerones as a foreign terrorist organization, allowing U.S. authorities to pursue its leadership, finances and international networks more aggressively.
The U.S. has also designated other major Ecuadorian criminal groups as terrorist organizations, including Los Choneros, Los Lobos and Chone Killers.
The growing links between Ecuador’s powerful drug-trafficking organizations and international criminal networks underline the increasingly global nature of the cocaine trade — and the role of Albanian organized crime networks in Europe and beyond.