{"id":5383,"date":"2026-03-11T21:35:22","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T21:35:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/03\/11\/ecuador-prepares-for-attack-on-criminal-economy-with-trump-backing\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T21:35:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T21:35:22","slug":"ecuador-prepares-for-attack-on-criminal-economy-with-trump-backing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/03\/11\/ecuador-prepares-for-attack-on-criminal-economy-with-trump-backing\/","title":{"rendered":"Ecuador prepares for attack on \u2018criminal economy\u2019 with Trump backing"},"content":{"rendered":"<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>The government of Ecuador has announced that, starting this weekend, it is prepared to launch a sweeping military offensive against criminal networks in the country, with the support of the United States.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview on Wednesday with Ecuador\u2019s Radio Centro, Interior Minister John Reimberg framed the upcoming assault as a shift in tactic for the administration of President Daniel Noboa.<\/p>\n<section>\n<h2>Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n<p><span>list of 3 items<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>list 1 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/3\/7\/theyre-a-cancer-trump-threatens-cartels-cuba-at-latin-american-summit\">\u2018They\u2019re cancer\u2019: Trump threatens cartels, Cuba at Latin American summit<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 2 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/3\/9\/us-military-kills-six-in-strike-on-alleged-drug-boat-in-the-eastern-pacific\">US military kills six in strike on alleged drug boat in the Eastern Pacific<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 3 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/3\/11\/press-freedom-declines-in-americas-with-us-seeing-sharpest-drop-report\">Press freedom declines in Americas, with US seeing sharpest drop: Report<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>\u201cLast year, we dedicated ourselves to catching all the heads of the [criminal] structures, which led them to fight among themselves for the same criminal economy,\u201d Reimberg said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis year, we are going to attack the criminal economy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Illegal mining and drug trafficking operations would be among the targets of the latest sweep, the minister added. No further details were provided about the scope of the operations.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"ecuador-imposes-curfew\">Ecuador imposes curfew<\/h2>\n<p>Reimberg\u2019s statements follow the announcement of a curfew for four Ecuadorian provinces: El Oro and Guayas along the Pacific coast, plus the eastern central areas of Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas and Los Rios.<\/p>\n<p>The curfew is expected to stretch for more than two weeks, from March 15 through March 30, requiring that residents stay indoors during designated hours.<\/p>\n<p>Should travel be necessary during curfew hours, officials warned that residents must be prepared to show documentation to justify their trip.<\/p>\n<p>In Wednesday\u2019s remarks, Reimberg argued that such restrictions were necessary to avoid civilian casualties.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t want collateral damage from the attacks we\u2019re going to carry out,\u201d he told the radio show.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need the roads clear because there will be troop movements. We need to have the roads clear to be able to carry out the operations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Reimberg added that the operation is expected to be of \u201cgreater magnitude\u201d than previous crime busts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s the difference? The force with which we\u2019re going to act,\u201d he said. \u201cBasically and in summary, we are going to destroy.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"tightening-relations-with-trump\">Tightening relations with Trump<\/h2>\n<p>The curfew was announced on March 2, as President Noboa addressed Ecuador\u2019s national police force.<\/p>\n<p>He told the law enforcement officers to be prepared for increased operations to combat criminal networks in the country: \u201cThe next phase of the fight against organised crime begins now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Within days of his speech, the US issued a statement confirming that it had launched <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/3\/4\/trump-administration-launches-us-military-operation-in-ecuador\">joint military operations<\/a> with Ecuador. So far, the US appears to be focused on offering support in the form of military logistics and intelligence.<\/p>\n<p>But the coalition comes as US President Donald Trump pressures Latin American leaders to take more aggressive action against local criminal networks, several of which he labelled \u201cforeign terrorist organisations\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Trump and Noboa, in particular, have forged a tight bond, with Noboa appearing to echo the US leader\u2019s hardline positions towards countries like Cuba and Colombia.<\/p>\n<p>Noboa recently <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/3\/6\/cuba-closes-quito-embassy-after-ecuadors-daniel-noboa-expels-its-diplomats\">expelled Cuba\u2019s diplomats<\/a> from Ecuador, amid a US fuel blockade on the Caribbean island. And as Trump called for Colombia to crack down on its illicit narcotics trade, Noboa <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/2\/26\/ecuador-hikes-tariffs-on-colombian-imports-to-50-percent-starting-march-1\">imposed tariffs<\/a> on the country for the same reason.<\/p>\n<p>Top US officials \u2014 including outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and the head of the US military\u2019s Southern Command, General Francis Donovan \u2014 have also visited Noboa in recent months to discuss regional security.<\/p>\n<p>The Trump administration has said it would like the US to exert its \u201cpreeminence\u201d throughout the Western Hemisphere.<\/p>\n<p>It has also attacked Venezuela and dozens of vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, on the grounds of combatting drug trafficking into the US. Those attacks, however, have been condemned by experts as illegal under international law.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"a-spike-in-crime\">A spike in crime<\/h2>\n<p>After coming to power in 2023 for an abbreviated term, Noboa was re-elected in 2025 on a platform based in large part on tackling the growth in Ecuador\u2019s gang activity.<\/p>\n<p>Once considered an area with relatively little violent crime, Ecuador experienced a surge following the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>Experts say the reasons are multipronged. Ecuador\u2019s economy had been weakened by the pandemic, and youth unemployment was high.<\/p>\n<p>Then, there\u2019s the country\u2019s geography. Ecuador sits between Colombia and Peru, the two largest cocaine producers in the world, and its position on the Pacific Coast made it an attractive port for illicit exports.<\/p>\n<p>That, in turn, has resulted in criminal networks increasingly trying to assert control over Ecuadorian territory and trafficking routes.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, in 2025, Ecuador once again saw a spike in its homicide rate, with an estimated 9,216 murders reported \u2014 an increase of more than 30 percent over the preceding year.<\/p>\n<p>In an effort to bring down those numbers, Noboa has resorted to hardline tactics that critics compare to the \u201cmano dura\u201d or \u201ciron-fisted\u201d approach of countries like El Salvador.<\/p>\n<p>Noboa himself has likened Ecuador\u2019s conflict with drug gangs to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2024\/1\/10\/ecuador-president-declares-war-with-criminal-gangs-amid-soaring-violence\">a \u201cwar\u201d<\/a>. Last year, he unsuccessfully championed <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/11\/17\/no-vote-leads-in-ecuador-referendum-on-hosting-foreign-military-bases\">a voter referendum<\/a> to allow foreign military bases on Ecuadorian soil, arguing that such measures are key to stopping drug trafficking.<\/p>\n<p>Ecuador has banned foreign military bases since 2008, in part because of allegations of abuse. The referendum was ultimately defeated.<\/p>\n<p>But the Trump administration had backed the ballot initiative and praised Noboa as a key ally in the US\u2019s ongoing \u201cwar on drugs\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Though no bases will be built, on Wednesday the Trump administration announced that it would be opening its first field office for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Ecuador.<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/USembassyEC\/status\/2031831524073755025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statement<\/a> called it a\u00a0\u201cstrategic and operational milestone for security\u201d in the region.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The government of Ecuador has announced that, starting this weekend, it is prepared to launch a sweeping military offensive against criminal networks in the country, with the support of the United States. In an interview on Wednesday with Ecuador\u2019s Radio Centro, Interior Minister John Reimberg framed the upcoming assault as a shift in tactic for &#8230; <a title=\"Ecuador prepares for attack on \u2018criminal economy\u2019 with Trump backing\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/03\/11\/ecuador-prepares-for-attack-on-criminal-economy-with-trump-backing\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Ecuador prepares for attack on \u2018criminal economy\u2019 with Trump backing\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5384,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5383\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}