The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has designated Ecuador's Los Tiguerones gang as a terrorist organization due to its involvement in narcotics trafficking and attacks on civilians, law enforcement officers, and journalists. The gang was responsible for storming a television station during a live broadcast in 2024, prompting the Ecuadorian president Daniel Noboa to declare a state of "internal armed conflict". Rubio made the announcement in Quito while meeting with Noboa as part of his three-nation tour through Latin America, where he also visited Colombia and plans to visit Peru. The US is seeking $45m in additional funding to dismantle these terrorist groups.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-10,
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Story summary
In a move aimed at combating narcotics trafficking, the US has designated Los Tiguerones, a notorious Ecuadorian crime gang, as a terrorist organization. The group, which stormed a television station during a live broadcast in 2024, is accused of being involved in narcotics trafficking, attacks on civilians, law enforcement officers, and journalists. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the announcement in Quito, Ecuador, where he met with right-wing President Daniel Noboa, one of several security partners Rubio is courting during a three-nation tour through Latin America that began on Tuesday. Rubio described Los Tiguerones as "terrorists who possess weapons and equipment resembling national armies", justifying the designation as part of the Trump administration's expanded campaign against alleged drug traffickers in the region, which has resulted in at least 227 deaths without providing evidence to support these claims.
Written for “Ecuador Crime Gang Terrorists” on 2026-09-10,
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Leaning score +0.85 for article 7637 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-09-10
The US has designated Ecuador’s Los Tiguerones gang, which stormed a television station during a live broadcast in 2024, as a terrorist organisation as the Trump administration expands its campaign against narcotics traffickers it says are destabilising Latin America.
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it → designate → America
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, made the announcement in Quito, where he met Ecuadorian president Daniel Noboa, one of several rightwing allies of Donald Trump whom Rubio is courting as a security partner during a three-nation tour through Latin America that began on Tuesday.
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that → make → Tuesday
Rubio said the Los Tiguerones gang was linked to narcotics trafficking, as well as attacks on civilians, law enforcement officers and journalists.
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gang → say → civilians
“We are not talking about an ordinary mafia, nor are we talking about common criminals, we are talking about terrorists who, in many cases, possess weapons and equipment resembling the national armies of certain countries,” he said.
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he → talk → countries
The heavily armed gang’s attack on the TC Televisión network in 2024 prompted Noboa to declare a state of “internal armed conflict”, amid claims foreign drug gangs had descended on Ecuador to take control of important routes for coca grown in neighbouring Colombia and Peru and then shipped to the US.
uncertain
gangs → arm → US
Live footage from the El Noticiero news programme showed men toting pistols, shotguns, machine guns, grenades and sticks of dynamite.
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men → show → dynamite
The viral images quickly became a symbol of the drug violence destabilising the country.
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images → become → country
In its efforts to fight against narcotics trafficking and illegal migration from Latin America, the Trump administration has also empowered a number of hardline leaders through its “Shield of the Americas” coalition that aims to tighten security cooperation with rightwing allies in the region.
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that → fight → region
During his trip, Rubio plans to visit several newly elected conservative leaders amid a significant political shift to the right in Latin America.
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Rubio → plan → America
On Wednesday, Rubio hailed Ecuador as being the Trump administration’s most “aggressive” partner in its military campaign against alleged drug traffickers, including in the controversial strikes against boats that have killed at least 227 people whom the Trump administration has called drug traffickers without providing evidence.
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administration → hail → evidence
Rubio said that he would seek $45m (£33m) in additional funding from Congress towards efforts aimed at “dismantling these terrorist groups”, although he did not go into details.
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he → say → details
He also told reporters that elite forces from both countries were “working jointly on a day-to-day basis in a way that has no precedent in order to try to dismantle these terrorist organisations”.
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that → tell → organisations
Rubio visited Colombia on Tuesday, where he met its newly inaugurated president Abelardo De La Espriella, who narrowly won a June election against leftist leader Gustavo Petro with whom the Trump White House had cold relations.
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House → visit → relations
During his remarks, Rubio took something of a victory lap, saying that the two sides would seek to “[confront] the mistakes of the past four years” and called Petro’s leadership of the country “unnatural”.
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sides → take → country
Colombia joined the Shield of the Americas initiative only after its change in government.
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Colombia → join → government
During the meeting, the two men discussed security and counternarcotics policy, and signed memorandums of understanding on critical minerals and nuclear energy.
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men → discuss → minerals
Rubio is expected to next travel to Peru, where he will meet Keiko Fujimori, who defeated a leftwing candidate by a margin of just 50,000 votes during a close election in July.
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who → expect → July
She has promised to fight crime with an “iron fist” and adopt some controversial policies from neighbouring El Salvador, which has been a close ally of the US on security policies.
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which → promise → policies
