US designates Ecuador’s Chone Killers as a terrorist group amid Latin American crackdown

The US State Department designated Ecuador’s Chone Killers as a foreign terrorist organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, imposing sanctions on a gang accused of attacks on civilians, police and government officials. The move, announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is part of a broader US-led effort to disrupt organized crime and drug trafficking in Latin America, with Ecuador’s government under President Noboa welcoming the decision and stepping up enforcement, including curfews and military deployments. The designation follows previous actions against Latin American gangs such as Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua and the Mexican Sinaloa cartel.