US announces $45m in security funding, additional naval vessels for Ecuador

United States President Donald Trump’s administration will seek $45m in security funding for Ecuador, as part of its cooperation with the country’s right-wing government.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the pledge during a visit to the Ecuadorian capital, Quito, on Wednesday.

He also praised the government of Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa as being “the most involved and aggressive partner” the US has had in its work dismantling criminal networks and “bringing people to justice that have never been brought to justice before”.

In addition to the $45m security package, Rubio said the Trump administration would launch a $10m initiative to tackle illegal gold mining, gang recruitment and drug trafficking.

It would also give a coast guard cutter ship and five interceptor vessels to help Ecuador’s navy, adding to previous seven previous vessels the US delivered earlier this year.

Rubio’s stop in Ecuador is part of a larger three-day, three-country visit to South America , which already took him to Colombia. On Thursday, he will continue to Peru.

Security has been a dominant theme so far on his trip. The US has sought to increase its influence across the Western Hemisphere, taking increasingly aggressive military actions abroad in the name of combatting crime.

The Trump administration has also labelled multiple Latin American criminal organisations “foreign terrorist organisations”.