Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned that the United States is prepared to “blow up” foreign crime groups if required, potentially working with partner nations. Now they’re going to help us find these people and take them out if that’s what it takes,” Rubio said during a visit to Ecuador.
He also announced that Washington will designate two of Ecuador’s largest criminal gangs, Los Lobos and Los Choneros, as foreign terrorist organizations. The remarks come just days after US forces struck a vessel in the Caribbean Sea, an operation the White House said killed 11 drug traffickers. Their identities have not yet been disclosed.
When asked if smugglers from allied nations, such as Mexico or Ecuador, could face unilateral US military action, Rubio said that cooperative governments would work with Washington to identify targets.
“The president has said he wants to wage war on these groups because they’ve been waging war on us for 30 years and no one has responded,” Rubio said. “But in many cases, there’s no need to act alone when friendly governments are ready to help us.” So far, the governments of Ecuador and Mexico have not publicly confirmed any support for such strikes.
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