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The Federal Bureau of Investigation is set to open an office in Ecuador to investigate organised crime, money laundering and corruption alongside local police, Interior Minister John Reimberg said on Wednesday.
The arrangement signals a new phase in security cooperation between Ecuador and the United States, partners in the 17-nation alliance against drug cartels launched by President Donald Trump at a summit last weekend.
Reimberg said the FBI’s operations in Ecuador would “begin immediately”.
The United States Embassy in Ecuador described the opening of the FBI office in Quito as a “strategic and operational milestone” that would strengthen efforts to “identify, dismantle, and bring to justice those who traffic drugs, launder money, smuggle weapons, and finance terrorism.”
According to its official website, the FBI already operates offices in countries including Colombia, Argentina, Barbados, Brazil, Chile, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico and Panama.
Ecuador’s president, Daniel Noboa, known for his tough stance on crime, is regarded as one of Trump’s strongest allies in Latin America.
Last week, US and Ecuadorian forces carried out joint strikes against cocaine-smuggling guerrilla groups in northern Ecuador.
Trump has also offered support for military operations against cartels, including the possibility of US missile strikes targeting major narcotics traffickers.
Reimberg said on Tuesday that a “very strong offensive” would begin on Sunday in areas most affected by drug-related violence.
Around 70 per cent of the drugs produced in Colombia and Peru, the world’s largest and second-largest cocaine producers, respectively, are transported through neighbouring Ecuador.
The drug trade has fuelled a violent struggle among criminal groups, transforming what was once one of Latin America’s safest countries into one of its most dangerous.
