Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is no longer serving as the Trump administration’s special envoy for the Shield of the Americas initiative, a State Department official said Thursday, though she remains involved in the administration’s efforts to coordinate security cooperation across the Western Hemisphere. “Kristi Noem’s envoy status expired last month and she is…
Colombian police have arrested the wife and daughter of one of Ecuador’s most powerful drug lords who was extradited to the United States last year, President Abelardo de la Espriella said Sunday. Adolfo Macias, alias “Fito,” is the leader of Los Choneros, a notorious Ecuadorian gang with ties to Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel. His wife, Inda…
U.S. troops helped Ecuador dismantle a local branch of Mexico’s notorious Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), arresting more than 30 members, Ecuador’s interior minister said Thursday. Quito, a Washington ally, is enthusiastically cooperating with Donald Trump’s crackdown on organized crime across Latin America. Thursday’s early-morning operation “was conducted jointly with U.S. troops and the Drug…
Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended controversial strikes on suspected drug-trafficking boats during a visit to Ecuador on Wednesday, arguing Latin American cartels would “eat these countries alive” if left unchecked. Hours later, the U.S. military confirmed it conducted another deadly strike in the Caribbean Sea. Hailing a new generation of conservative leaders emerging across…
The U.S. military, in conjunction with Ecuadorian officials, boarded and later sank a vessel on Friday allegedly used as a refueling station for drug-trafficking boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean, according to U.S. Southern Command. The vessel, which was in international waters near Ecuador, was allegedly used as a floating ship-to-ship refueling station for drug…
Norway’s soccer star Erling Haaland’s face has appeared on billboards, trading cards and television screens, becoming a social media phenomenon for scoring seven goals across four World Cup matches in July. Now, police in Ecuador have found it in an unexpected place – printed on green rectangular packages that made up a stunning cocaine shipment…
