The US designates the Chone Killers gang in Ecuador as a ‘terrorist’ group | Crime Stories

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the group has been rebranded as a ‘Specially Designated Terrorist Group’.

The US State Department has designated the Ecuadorean Chone Killers as a foreign “terrorist group”, imposing sanctions on a terrorist group that Washington has accused of targeting civilians and government officials.

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the group has also been classified as a “Specially Designated Terrorist Organization”.

“The Chone Killers have carried out numerous attacks involving civilians, police and government officials, including the assassination of government officials,” Rubio said in announcing the names.

The move against street gangs in Ecuador is part of a broader campaign by US President Donald Trump on crime and drug trafficking in Latin America.

The Trump administration has designated several other Latin American gangs and drug traffickers as terrorist organizations, including Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua and Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel.

“The Trump administration, in partnership with Ecuador and President Daniel Noboa, will continue to protect our country by keeping drugs off our streets and disrupting the funding of violent weapons,” Rubio said.

Rubio also said that Ecuadorean gangs help Mexican cartels transport and ship drugs, which he said support “terrorism” and other organized crime.

Ecuador’s Foreign Ministry welcomed the US decision, saying it showed Washington’s strong support for Noboa’s campaign against organized crime.

“The government of Ecuador appreciates the strong support of the United States for the decision of President Daniel Noboa to continue the fight against organized crime,” the foreign ministry said in a statement on X.

Noboa, who is a trusted ally of Trump, has imposed a curfew and sent troops to several regions in the fight against the US to stop terrorism.