The Trump administration is taking a hard stance against drug traffickers. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced in Ecuador during a joint news conference with the country’s foreign minister that President Donald Trump is looking to "wage war" against narco-terrorists.
"It's a war on killers. It's a war on terror. These are not narco-traffickers, these are narco-terrorists who terrorize the countries they operate in," Rubio said.
While he said that the U.S. was prepared to support Ecuador in its fight against drug traffickers, he added that the relationship between the two countries would not be about security only. The secretary of state said the U.S. is looking to expand its already "vibrant economic relationship" with the South American nation.
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The remarks came as he announced the new designations of Los Choneros and Los Lobos as foreign terrorist organizations. Both groups originated in Ecuador. Additionally, the U.S. committed $13.7 million to combat drugs and crime, as well as $6 million worth of unmanned aircraft vehicle system (UAVS) for the Ecuadorian Navy.
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Rubio emphasized the importance of the designation, saying that it allows the nations to share intelligence that "can be actioned for potentially lethal operations," which would allow the host country to take out the terrorists.
The secretary of state also discussed threats from Venezuela and the U.S. strike on the country. He claimed that the United Nations has suggested that Venezuela is not involved in the drug trade.
"I don't care what the U.N. says. The U.N. doesn't know what they're talking about. Maduro is indicted by a grand jury in the Southern District of New York," Rubio said of the Venezuelan dictator.
"That means the Southern District of New York presented the evidence to a grand jury, and a grand jury indicted him. And then a superseding indictment came out that was unsealed about a year and a half ago that specifically detailed Maduro's actions. So, number one, let there be no doubt he, Nicolás Maduro, is an indicted drug trafficker in the United States, and he's a fugitive of American justice."
Rubio also referenced "cooperative governments," which he said would help the U.S. identify and locate drug traffickers.
"They're going to help us identify them – they're going to help us find these people and blow them up, if that's what it takes. They're going to help us with it," Rubio said.
Earlier this week, U.S. Marines carried out an unprecedented strike on a cartel-operated vessel off of Venezuela. This signaled that the Trump administration was taking a tougher new approach to countering the international drug trade. The strike killed 11 members of Tren de Aragua, which the Trump administration designated as a terrorist organization in February.
"Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "BEWARE!"
