US bombs alleged training camp inside Ecuador
In an attack carried out in conjunction with Ecuadorian forces, US Dept of War destroys alleged training camp of Comandos de la Frontera
The United States, in cooperation with the Ecuadorian military, on Friday bombed what the US Department of War claims was a training camp for a criminal armed group in northeastern Ecuador.
Officials from both countries claimed that the attack, which was carried out with aircraft and drones with naval support, targeted a camp run by Comandos de la Frontera, an armed group based in southern Colombia made up of both former FARC fighters and paramilitary forces who fought on the side of the government during the country’s 53-year civil war.
The alleged camp was situated very near the Colombian border in a region which has seen a dramatic rise in violence in recent years, principally due to narcotrafficking that originates in Colombia — the largest cocaine producer in the world.
Neither the US nor Ecuadorian military forces reported any casualties in the bombing, video of which was released by both countries as part of what security forces have dubbed “Operation Total Extermination.”
It is the second such joint operation in a week. US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) has been bombing vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific oceans since last year, attacks which have killed at least 150 people.
But land bombings within Ecuador represent a sharp escalation in US aggressiveness in Latin America. These bombings occur as the administration of US President Donald Trump launches “Operation American Shield,” a security initiative which the White House describes as combating “cartels, narco-terrorism and Chinese influence” in the Americas.
“At Ecuador’s request, the Department of Defense took specific action to advance our shared goal of dismantling narco-terrorist networks,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell wrote in a statement on social media.
Ecuador called the US “a key ally in the struggle” to launch domestic strikes on criminal organizations within the country, in a statement immediately following the attack.
Both the United States and Ecuador have talked of cooperation in the short term within Ecuador, but neither government has released details about what that will mean in practice.
As part of those efforts, Trump invited right-wing presidents in the region to a conference in Miami this weekend. Neither Colombia nor Mexico were invited, the two countries with the largest presence of armed non-state actors in Latin America, as well as considerable illegal drug production.
The new initiative will be led by former secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), who was fired this week from the position after her disastrous interview before the US Congress.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has made military crackdowns on organized crime a cornerstone of his administration, so far without positive results, as the security situation continues to worsen within the country.
Noboa has pushed for US military bases in Ecuador, currently prohibited by Ecuadorian law. Last year, he initiated a popular referendum meant to reverse that policy. It was overwhelmingly defeated by voters.
Noboa’s government also recently imposed tariffs on Colombia, its largest neighbor, accusing it of not doing enough to combat drug trafficking, complicating security cooperation between the two countries.
Colombia holds elections in just a few months, and the increasing power of armed groups within the country has become a contentious issue domestically as well as a source of contention with the Trump administration, particularly US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Last year Trump threatened to bomb targets within Colombia, but relations between the two countries improved after a visit by Petro to the White House earlier this year.
You can also donate a one-time gift via “Buy Me a Coffee”. It only takes a few moments, and you can do so here.
And if you can’t do any of that, please do help us by sharing the piece! We don’t have billionaire PR teams either.
Hasta pronto, piratas!
