Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa wants US and Europe to join battle against gangs

President Ecuador told the BBC that we, Europe and Brazilian troops wanted to join the “war” of criminal organizations.

He added that he wanted to designate Ecuador gangs as terrorist groups, just as President Donald Trump did for Mexico and Venezuela Cartel.

He also said that the Ecuador law would be respected when he asked about his partnership with Eric Prince, the founder of Black Water, a Trump ally and controversial private military company.

In recent years, violence has soared in Ecuador.The gang is fighting to control the drug trafficking path. Most of the world’s cocaine is trafficked through the port of Ecuador.

President Novoa pointed out that he wanted foreign military aid to deal with drug cartels before. But this is the first time he has introduced the United States, Brazil and Europe for the first time.

Security -and how he is dealing with -this is the biggest problem for voters. Leaked in the Election of President Ecuador April 13.

NOBOA has defined in the office for 16 months by the powerful crackdown on the gang and the military, but he is on fire from critics who see his tactics as too heavy.

During his term, the murder rate decreased by about 16% from 2023 to 2024, but was much higher than the previous year, and in January 2025, the murder recorded 781 a month.

In an interview with the BBC News, the current president said, “We must have more soldiers to fight this war.”

“70 %of the world’s cocaine is exit through Ecuador. We need the help of international forces.”

He said that he started as a “criminal organization” that is now a group of “international drug terrorists” composed of 14,000 armed individuals.

Donald Trump’s decision to designate some Latin America Cartel as a terrorist group gave us an additional authority for the law enforcement agency to fight them.

NOBOA told the BBC that the US wanted to do the same as the Ecuador gang.

NOBOA has already ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to seek a cooperative agreement with the “Allied” to support the police and the military in Ecuador, and is seeking to approve the Congress to change the Constitution to allow Ecuador’s foreign military base.

In addition to constitutional changes, other countries must be willing to provide this. It is dangerous and expensive to place an army abroad, but there is a precedent for him. The United States had a military foundation for the Van Narcotic Operation in Ecuador until 2009, before it was banned by former President Rafael Corea.

President Novoa’s challenge is also convincing that he is also interested in preventing Cartel and drug trafficking with European leaders with many drugs, such as Donald Trump in the United States.

He said about the alliance with the Trump Alliance Eric Prince, which he announced a few days ago.

Princes has established Black Water, a private military company that provided security services to the US government, but is controversial. He sold the company in 2010.

Four black water contractors were convicted of murdering 14 Iraqi citizens in Baghdad’s NISOR SQUARE in 2007 and later forgiven by Trump in 2020.

Does President Novoa want Prince to bring mercenary to the country?

“It wasn’t necessarily mercenary,” he said. “We are talking about the army. We, Europe and Brazil Special Forces. This can be a great help to us.”

Some people supported this action, but some Ecuador people cited Prince’s past records and feared the abuse of the country’s rights.

When asked about Eric Prince’s past debate, Prime Minister Novoa said he must respect and legally war.

But Cartel added, “We have violated all human rights as possible over the past five years.”

“They cut people. They rape thousands of women. They trafficked human organs. They traded illegal gold and moved more than 1,000 tons of cocaine every year.”

His iron approach is burning last year. Four boys were arrested by soldiers on charges of theft. And later I found cutting and burning.

NOBOA said that the soldiers could wait for the investigation, but they would “fight to the end.”

He insisted that the army was acting in proportion to the crime, and noted the imbalance between 35,000 powerful troops and 40,000 armed gangs.

In January’s record murder, major critics insisted that his strict approach failed.

At the campaign rally, Luisa González, his left -wing challenger, said: “The 2023 campaign promise was scheduled to be delivered in a year and a half, not two.

NOBOA said in his country that it was normal to see the increase in violence before the election, but Ecuador repeated that this problem could not fight. “This is a national crime without a national security policy.”

Albania, Mexico and Colombian Cartel worked together, but there is no joint security policy among countries affected by drug violence, he said.

Ecuador insisted that it needed help. Because the economy is smaller than many in the United States where most drugs are transported in Europe or most.

He added that drug trafficking and illegal mining produced $ 130 billion (about 27%of GDP) every year in Ecuador.

He urged countries with high cocaine consumption, such as England, to do more to solve this debate.

In violence and charges, the unemployment rate led to many Ecuadorians running north.

They are now one of the best nationalities that cross the gap jungle on the dangerous legs from the south to North America.

President Novoa is willing to accept Ecuador immigrants in the United States, but not other nationality, and the country has been providing technical training and minimum wages for returners for three months.

For him, the solution is improving “opportunity.”

“We must develop Ecuador’s jobs for these people as an export -based economy.”

He told those who avoided violence that “100%” sympathized with the past “lack of strong security policy.”

What is his message to the Ecuador people? “State -positive results will be seen. We are reducing inflation. The company is hiring. The economy is recovering.”

Daniel Noboa will play against Luisa González next month.

He voted 0.5% more than her in the first round.The second round can be very close and polarized.

Security, the biggest issue for voters, and his success depends on whether Ecuador people think that progress is sufficient.