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United States (US) Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday that the Ecuadorian criminal gang Chone Killers has been designated as both a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).
In a statement posted on X, Rubio said the designation reflects the group’s alleged involvement in drug trafficking, violence against civilians and links to Mexican drug cartels.
“I’ve designated the Ecuadorian gang Chone Killers as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist,” Rubio said.
“Ecuadorian gangs help Mexican cartels move and export illicit drugs to fund terrorism and criminal activity.”
This move expands Washington’s campaign against transnational criminal groups operating across Latin America.
Rubio accused the gang of carrying out “attacks on civilians, law enforcement officers, and government officials, including high-profile assassinations of public officials.”
The designation subjects the group to U.S. terrorism sanctions, including the freezing of assets under U.S. jurisdiction. It also makes it a federal offence under U.S. law to knowingly provide material support to the organisation.
Rubio said the United States would continue working closely with Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa to combat organised crime in the region.
“Working with President Daniel Noboa in Ecuador, we will continue to strengthen our regional security and ensure narcoterrorists have no place in our hemisphere,” he said.
The designation comes as Ecuador grapples with an unprecedented surge in violence fuelled by powerful criminal organisations involved in cocaine trafficking. The Chone Killers emerged after splitting from the larger Los Choneros criminal organisation around 2020 and have since been linked by authorities to contract killings, extortion and drug trafficking operations.
Washington has increasingly treated major Latin American criminal organisations as national security threats rather than conventional criminal enterprises.
Under President Donald Trump, the US has expanded the use of terrorism designations against gangs and cartels accused of financing violence through narcotics trafficking.
I’ve designated the Ecuadorian gang Chone Killers as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist. Ecuadorian gangs help Mexican cartels move and export illicit drugs to fund terrorism and criminal activity. The Chone Killers have attacked civilians,…
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) July 1, 2026
