US Designates Ecuadorean Gang 'Chone Killers' as Terrorist Organization

The US State Department has designated the Ecuadorean gang Chone Killers as a foreign “terrorist organisation”, imposing sanctions on a crime group that Washington has accused of carrying out attacks on civilians and public officials.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the gang has also been classified as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist”.

“Chone Killers has committed numerous attacks targeting civilians, law enforcement officers and government officials, including high-profile assassinations of public officials,” Rubio said in a statement announcing the designations.

The move against the Ecuadorian street gang is part of a broader campaign by US President Donald Trump’s administration on organised crime and drug trafficking in Latin America.

The Trump administration has designated several other Latin American gangs and drug cartels as “terrorist” organisations, including Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua and the Mexican Sinaloa cartel.

“The Trump administration, in partnership with Ecuador and President Daniel Noboa, will continue to protect our hemisphere by keeping illicit drugs off our streets and disrupting the revenue streams funding violent narcoterrorists,” Rubio said.

Rubio also alleged that Ecuadorean gangs help Mexican cartels transport and export illegal drugs, which he said fund “terrorism” and other criminal activity.

Ecuador’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the US decision, saying it reflected Washington’s strong support for Noboa’s campaign against criminal organisations.

“The Government of Ecuador thanks the firm support of the United States for the decision by President Daniel Noboa to maintain an all-out fight against criminal organisations,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on X.

Noboa, a staunch ally of Trump, has imposed curfews and deployed the military to several provinces in a US-backed crackdown aimed at stamping out gang activity.