Reaching Ecuador: why the United States launched a military operation in the republic

The US participation in the military operation against drug cartels in Ecuador is an attempt to strengthen control over the country rich in oil, copper and gold, experts interviewed by Izvestia believe. The operation itself began on March 3, and is being jointly conducted by the armed forces of Ecuador and the United States. The official reason was the desire to put an end to the terror of drug cartels — in 2025 alone, more than 9,000 murders were committed in the country, according to this indicator, Ecuador came out on top in all of Latin America. Gangs are also terrorizing companies developing oil fields, and 30% of exports of these products go to the United States. In addition, American intelligence agencies may be interested in actively recruiting members of the large Cuban diaspora — they may be useful for implementing scenarios of destabilization of the situation in Cuba.

The US military operation in Ecuador

On March 3, a joint military operation between the United States and the republic's authorities against drug cartels began in Ecuador. On the eve of the fighting, a curfew was imposed in the country — it is valid from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Preparations for the purge of the bandit clans began in advance. The United States has been deploying troops in Manabi province since December 2025. Military equipment was delivered to Ecuador: airplanes, drones and radars.

President Daniel Noboa said back in March 2025 that he was counting on Donald Trump's help in the fight against criminal gangs.

"We have a plan with our law enforcement agencies, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, the armed forces, the strategic intelligence center, as well as international assistance and support from special forces," he said at the time.

Ecuador currently ranks first in Latin America and sixth in the world in terms of violence, according to monitoring data from the ACLED research organization. In 2025, more than 9.2 thousand murders were recorded in the country. Over a third of them are the result of the actions of bandits. 71% of Ecuadorians have been subjected to some form of violence by organized crime.

According to ABC, the US military is directly involved in the raids. The New York Times writes that American special forces are training the Ecuadorian military. The United States also provides intelligence to the republic. The head of the Southern Command of the US Armed Forces, Marine General Francis L. Donovan, personally arrived in Ecuador. On the eve of the operation, he held a meeting with the president and the military leadership of the republic.

The United States has launched a ground military operation against drug cartels in Latin America for the first time in history. Previously, they were limited to airstrikes on smuggling vessels in the Eastern Pacific and the Caribbean. At the same time, the legality of a number of targets on the water is in great doubt.

Before the operation in Ecuador, Washington's involvement in raids against drug cartels in Latin America was much less. As a rule, these were police operations. For example, in 1999, the United States and Colombia conducted a raid called the Millennium against one of the largest Medellin cartel at that time. Then they managed to arrest drug lord Fabio Ochoa. According to estimates by the American Drug Enforcement Administration, the structures he led at that time controlled up to 20% of all cocaine shipments from Colombia. They went to the USA, Europe, Russia.

Another example is a major police operation in Colombia in 2021. Then, with the support of the American special services, they managed to detain the largest drug lord Dairo Usuga, who controlled almost half of all cocaine shipments from the country. 500 police officers and helicopters participated in the operation. The scale has been compared to the liquidation of Pablo Escobar in the 1990s.

What resources does Ecuador have?

Despite the fact that Ecuador has a truly catastrophic situation with banditry, the United States is present in the country not only to eliminate drug traffickers. Washington's actions are aimed at suppressing local leftist movements and tightening control over the country, Oleg Yasinsky, an international journalist and specialist in Latin America, told Izvestia.

Ecuador has the richest natural locations in resources, and this always attracts the attention of Donald Trump. The proven oil reserves in the Amazon lowlands amount to almost 8.3 billion barrels. Ecuador ranks 18th in the world in terms of raw material reserves.

The conflict in the Middle East disrupted the logistics of oil supplies. The importance of stable supplies of raw materials to the United States from Ecuador has increased. The republic exports about 356,000 barrels of oil per day, and the United States accounts for 30% of this volume. Raw material infrastructure facilities are often attacked by gangs and blocked by leftist protest movements. Minimizing these factors is important for the uninterrupted supply of Ecuadorian oil to American refineries.

Another key export resource of the country is copper. Ecuador has one of the largest copper reserves in the world at the San Carlos Pananza mine - 600 million tons of ore.

The country's gold reserves are also significant. At the same time, its illegal mining is flourishing, which organized crime is engaged in. Illegal activities cover more than 2 million hectares of forests. This is another reason for the United States to help deal with the bandits and get a solid piece of the pie for itself. Especially in the context of record prices for this metal.

For whatever purposes, the United States sends troops to Ecuador, strengthening control over the country will definitely happen, said Viktor Kheifets, chief researcher at the ILA RAS.

"The Ecuadorian authorities are well aware of this, however, they considered it more important at this stage to receive US assistance in the fight against organized crime," the expert noted.

How Ecuador is related to Cuba

Natural resources are not the only reason for the United States' attention to Ecuador. In recent decades, residents of Cuba have used this country as a transit point for emigration to the United States. Many have settled here. This is how a large Cuban diaspora has formed in the country, which the United States can rely on if they decide to implement a scenario of a change of power on the island, Oleg Yasinsky believes. American intelligence agencies can recruit a part of the diaspora.

Experts believe that active military actions against Cuba should not be expected now, including because part of the US forces is distracted by the conflict in the Middle East.

"Because of Iran, the Americans had to move part of the warships and, in particular, the Gerald Ford aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East," American scientist Malek Dudakov told Izvestia. — Resources are limited.

In this situation, Washington would rather limit itself to economic pressure, as well as various provocations, including with the help of the diaspora. And Cubans who have naturalized in Ecuador can be useful here. The terror of drug cartels and the fight against them create a good "legend" — under the guise of refugees, Cubans can return to their homeland and start subversive activities.