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# US–Ecuador Military Alliance Targets Narco Corridor
- URL: https://www.theoceaniacables.com/us-ecuador-military-alliance-targets-narco-corridor/
- Published: 2026-08-23T04:00:14.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-24T06:09:49.000Z
- Description: US Special Forces, warships back Ecuador's cartel fight in Esmeraldas under the A3C coalition, targeting narco-terrorist groups near Colombia
- Author: The Oceania Cables
- Tags: United States, Ecuador, South America, Cartel

### **Summary:**

In August 2026, Ecuador and the United States confirmed the expansion of joint military and intelligence operations in Esmeraldas province, a region at the forefront of the country’s struggle against narco-trafficking and organized crime. Governor Juan Jaramillo announced the active involvement of the U.S. Army’s 7th Special Forces Group in the cantons of San Lorenzo, Eloy Alfaro, and Río Verde, with intelligence sharing extending to Colombian security forces. Defence Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo detailed the arrival of two U.S. Navy warships and three Black Hawk helicopters, significantly boosting Ecuador’s maritime and aerial interdiction capabilities. These developments coincided with the August 18 visit to Quito by U.S. Southern Command Commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan—his third official visit in six months—underscoring the deepening bilateral partnership. The operations are conducted under the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition (A3C), now comprising 19 member countries, and are supported by a new Interior Ministry agreement operationalizing the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), allowing for temporary U.S. deployments of up to 180 days.

### **Detailed Report**

### **1\. US Special Forces Join Ecuador Operations in Esmeraldas** 

On August 20, 2026, Esmeraldas Governor Juan Jaramillo publicly confirmed that Ecuadorian forces are working directly with the U.S. Army’s 7th Special Forces Group in the cantons of San Lorenzo, Eloy Alfaro, and Río Verde. Jaramillo emphasized the integration of U.S. advisors in intelligence operations and noted ongoing intelligence sharing with Colombian security forces, reflecting the new regional dynamics following President Abelardo de la Espriella’s inauguration in Colombia. While declining to specify the number of U.S. personnel or the precise start date of their presence, Jaramillo underscored the strategic importance of these joint efforts in dismantling narco-terrorist networks.

Defence Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo announced the arrival of two U.S. Navy warships, each comparable in size to Ecuador’s BAE Jambelí and equipped with interceptor boats and helicopters. These vessels are positioned along the narco-trafficking route between the continent and the Galápagos Islands, effectively tripling Ecuador’s maritime interdiction capacity. In addition, three Black Hawk helicopters have been stationed at Manta, with operational reach into both Manta and San Lorenzo, further enhancing rapid response and surveillance capabilities.

These developments followed the August 18 visit to Quito by U.S. Southern Command Commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan—his third official engagement in Ecuador within six months. During this visit, Gen. Donovan met with Defence Minister Loffredo and Chief of the Joint Command of the Armed Forces Gen. Henry Santiago Delgado Salvador, reaffirming the bilateral commitment to countering narco-terrorism and transnational organized crime. The operational model centers on Ecuadorian tactical command, with U.S. Special Forces providing advisory, intelligence, and enabling support. No specific troop numbers, operational results, or named targets have been publicly disclosed by officials.

### **2\. SOUTHCOM and Ecuador Statements on Narco-Terrorism Fight** 

Governor Juan Jaramillo confirmed the presence of the U.S. Army’s 7th Special Forces Group, stating: “We are with the seventh group of the United States Army (...). We are working together in the fight against narco-terrorism.” He linked the cooperation to intelligence and operational-target sharing with Colombian police and armed forces following the inauguration of President Abelardo de la Espriella.

Defence Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo placed the reinforcement in the context of recent high-level talks with the United States. He said the Panama meeting with the U.S. Secretary of War had underscored the need to accelerate operations and  
that the subsequent arrival of General Donovan demonstrated concrete results  
from those discussions. Loffredo described the cooperation as reflecting the  
good relations President Daniel Noboa maintains with strategic allied countries  
and noted that Ecuador had already presented its first work proposal, with the  
objective that joint operations among coalition countries begin in November.

The Ecuadorian Ministry of Defence stated that the meeting between Loffredo, General Henry Delgado, and General Donovan was intended “to strengthen joint actions against narcoterrorism and transnational organised crime,” adding that the alliance “allows us to add capabilities, intelligence and cooperation to strike the  
mafias with greater force and protect those who matter most: our families.”

U.S. Southern Command confirmed that General Donovan held high-level talks with Defence Minister Loffredo and General Henry Santiago Delgado Salvador. The command said the leaders discussed joint efforts to counter narcoterrorism in support of the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition and noted the establishment of Joint Task Force – Western Hemisphere on August 4 as SOUTHCOM’s action arm in the region. Donovan stated: “The time is now to take the fight to the cartels… Ecuador is a critical member of the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition, and its regional leadership is vital as we work together to defeat transnational threats and  
secure our shared hemisphere.”

The involvement of the 7th Special Forces Group builds on earlier cooperation. In  
April and May 2026, personnel from the Jaramijó Special Operations Battalion  
completed bilateral training with the same U.S. unit focused on maritime operations, close-quarters combat, small-unit tactics, and tactical medicine.

### **3\. A3C and Shield of the Americas: Hemispheric Security Alliance**

The Shield of the Americas serves as the political forum for hemispheric security cooperation, while the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition (A3C) functions as its operational arm. The coalition was formally launched by President Donald Trump on March 7, 2026, at a summit at Trump National Doral in Miami, with an initial membership of 12 to 17 countries. By August 2026, the coalition had expanded to 19 member states: Argentina, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States. Colombia’s accession under President Abelardo de la Espriella marked a significant milestone, enabling joint land operations and deepening cross-border intelligence sharing.

On August 4, 2026, U.S. Southern Command established Joint Task Force – Western Hemisphere (JTF-WHEM) as the coalition’s operational action arm, tasked with synchronizing multinational efforts against transnational criminal organizations. JTF-WHEM absorbed and expanded upon the operational mandate of Operation Southern Spear (Lanza del Sur), the maritime campaign launched in September 2025 targeting suspected drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. Independent tallies as of mid-2026 put the number of vessels struck at more than 60 and associated deaths at more than 220.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, addressing A3C defense leaders in Panama in August 2026, declared the coalition’s new motto as “We do bad things to bad people” and urged partners to move from political commitment to joint operations on land as well as at sea. The mid-August operations in Esmeraldas reflect the coalition’s strategic shift from primarily maritime interdiction to integrated land and coastal campaigns, with Ecuador positioned as a flagship partner in this evolving model.

### **4\. Inside Ecuador's Narco Corridor: Crime Groups in Esmeraldas**

San Lorenzo, Eloy Alfaro, and Río Verde in northern Esmeraldas form a critical corridor for trafficking and illegal mining, linking Ecuador’s Pacific coast with Colombia’s Nariño department. The region is contested by several powerful organized crime groups, each with distinct territorial and economic interests.

Los Tiguerones, one of Ecuador’s principal organised crime groups with a strong presence in Esmeraldas, have established control of docks and esteros in San Lorenzo used for logistics supporting both drug trafficking and illegal mining. Their operations include extortion, recruitment of local youth, and reported alliances with the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG). Los Lobos, another major Ecuadorian criminal organisation that has expanded into Esmeraldas and neighboring provinces, often through violent confrontations with rivals, maintain links to the same Mexican cartel and are also involved in illegal mining. Los Choneros, historically one of Ecuador’s most prominent trafficking groups and long associated with the Sinaloa Cartel, have facilitated cocaine routes through Pacific ports, including those in Esmeraldas, and have performed logistical roles in illegal mining in San Lorenzo. The group’s influence has diminished following the 2025 capture and extradition of its leader “Fito,” but remnants continue to compete for control of routes and mining operations. Los Choneros and Los Lobos were designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists by the U.S. State Department in September 2025.

Colombian residual groups remain active on the corridor. The Frente Oliver Sinisterra, a FARC dissident structure, maintains a presence on the Nariño–Esmeraldas axis, including areas opposite Mataje. Comandos de la Frontera, another Colombian armed organisation formed from FARC dissidents and other residual elements, form part of the wider cross-border dynamic, though their main concentration lies further east. These groups are involved in cross-border trafficking, arms smuggling, and the provision of armed support to Ecuadorian criminal networks.

Illegal gold mining is a parallel driver of violence and criminality in San Lorenzo and Eloy Alfaro. Dozens of clandestine mining fronts operate in the area, providing revenue for armed groups. On August 21, 2026, the Ecuadorian Navy’s Batallón de Infantería de Marina N.° 11 “San Lorenzo” conducted an operation in the Angostura sector of Eloy Alfaro, disabling one camp, two excavators, five water pumps, two classifiers, 13 fuel tanks, and one shotgun.

Violence trends in Esmeraldas have remained high throughout 2025 and 2026\. According to InSight Crime, Ecuador recorded a national homicide rate of 50.9 per 100,000 in 2025, the highest in South America. Esmeraldas consistently ranks among the country’s most violent provinces. States of emergency and curfews have been repeatedly declared in the province and other coastal areas.

*This description reflects the documented environment in the cantons named by officials. It does not attribute specific targets to the mid-August reinforcement.*

### **5\. Legal Framework for U.S. Military Presence in Ecuador**

The legal foundation for the U.S. military presence in Ecuador is anchored in the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), signed on October 6, 2023, and ratified by President Daniel Noboa in February 2024\. The SOFA provides the standing legal basis for the temporary presence of U.S. Armed Forces members, civilian Department of Defense employees, and certain contractors, and grants certain privileges, exemptions, and immunities consistent with the agreement.

Around August 18–19, 2026, the Ecuadorian Interior Ministry published an agreement operationalizing the SOFA, establishing procedures for the temporary entry and stay of U.S. personnel and contractors. Under this framework, U.S. personnel may remain in Ecuador for up to 180 non-renewable days per calendar year, with multiple entries permitted. Entry is facilitated through official movement orders issued by the U.S. Department of Defense, and covered personnel are exempt from standard visa requirements and certain administrative sanctions.

The arrangement is explicitly framed as a temporary deployment in support of joint operations, rather than the establishment of permanent U.S. military bases, in line with the outcome of Ecuador’s 2025 referendum, which rejected permanent foreign military bases. Ecuador’s domestic legal context includes the January 2024 designation of an internal armed conflict against designated organized armed groups and non-state belligerents (originally Decree 111 and subsequent renewals), which authorizes enhanced military involvement and provides a national legal basis for international security cooperation.

A $25 million bilateral security cooperation agreement signed in September 2024 has provided a foundation for ongoing technical assistance, capacity building, and equipment transfers between the two countries.

### **Conclusion**

The August 2026 expansion of joint U.S.–Ecuador military operations in Esmeraldas marks a further step in bilateral and hemispheric security cooperation. Ecuador’s role as a leading partner in the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition underscores the shift from primarily maritime interdiction to integrated land and coastal operations, reflecting a shared commitment to confronting transnational threats in one of the region’s most challenging environments.