The U.S. military executed a targeted joint strike Friday against a “narco-terrorist” drug-smuggling facility in Ecuador.
The strike was conducted at the request of the Ecuadorean government and was part of an operation spanning months.
“Over the past few months, U.S. Special Forces began helping Ecuadorean commandos train and plan for extensive raids that are expected to unfold across the country in the coming weeks,” according to The New York Times.
The ongoing operation will specifically be “targeting drug facilities run by gangs that have unleashed deadly violence in Ecuador and turned the country into the leading exporter of cocaine in the world.”
SOUTH AMERICA STRIKE: The U.S. military carried out a targeted strike against a narco-terrorist network as part of a joint operation with Ecuador, U.S. Southern Command said
“We are bombing narco-terrorists on land as well,” War Secretary Hegseth said. pic.twitter.com/nCFj5ooWF3
— Fox News (@FoxNews) March 7, 2026
The operation officially got underway on March 3.
“On March 3, Ecuadorian and U.S. military forces launched operations against Designated Terrorist Organizations in Ecuador,” U.S. Southern Command announced that evening. “The operations are a powerful example of the commitment of partners in Latin America and the Caribbean to combat the scourge of narco-terrorism.”
The operation reportedly “burst into public view” a day later when Southern Command published a video depicting the first raid:
On March 3, Ecuadorian and U.S. military forces launched operations against Designated Terrorist Organizations in Ecuador. The operations are a powerful example of the commitment of partners in Latin America and the Caribbean to combat the scourge of narco-terrorism.
Together,… pic.twitter.com/MrkKZcrDbs
— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) March 4, 2026
A lot of credit is being given to Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa for his eagerness to work with U.S. forces. Noboa is a conservative who’s earned a track record as a staunch ally of the Trump administration, especially regarding drug operations.
“We commend President Noboa, the Government of Ecuador, and the brave troops of Ecuador’s defense and security forces for their partnership in the successful operation against a narco-terrorist supply complex today, disrupting their operations and logistics,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell wrote on social media on Friday.
According to USA Today, Noboa said on March 2 that “his country would launch joint operations with the United States beginning in March as a new phase against ‘narcoterrorism and illegal mining.'”
“The president’s office said joint initiatives would include information sharing and operational coordination, such as at airports and ports,” the American paper reported on Friday.
Yes — as @POTUS has said — we are bombing Narco Terrorists on land as well.
Thank you to our partners in Ecuador. Much more to come from @Southcom … https://t.co/ALuwbVWU4C
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) March 6, 2026
All this comes ahead of a scheduled Saturday meeting at a U.S.-led summit in Florida between Noboa and U.S. President Donald Trump.
“President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak at a ‘Shield of the Americas’ Summit on Saturday in Doral, Florida, an event that is billed by the White House as a ‘historic’ grouping of over 17 Latin American countries that are committed to cooperating with the U.S. in taking on the cartels and securing the American border following the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro,” according to ABC News.
“On Saturday, the point of this newfound Latin America Summit is to promote freedom, security and prosperity in our region,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced earlier in the week.
“The President will be speaking with the leaders of this country who have really formed a historic coalition to work together to address criminal, narcoterrorist gangs and cartels and counter illegal and mass migration into not only the United States but the western hemisphere, which remains a key and top priority of this president,” she added.
The primary purpose of the summit, according to Leavitt, will be to reaffirm “a historic coalition to work together to combat gangs and criminal cartels, [as well as] address illegal and mass migration not only to the United States, but also throughout the Western Hemisphere.’
These agreements will all be outlined in the Doral Charter, a document designed to establish a hemispheric alliance to “affirm the right of the peoples of the hemisphere to chart their own destiny, free from interference.”
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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