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Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the US will “blow up” foreign crime groups if needed, possibly in collaboration with other countries.<\/p>\n
“Now they’re gonna help us find these people and blow them up, if that’s what it takes,” Rubio said during a visit to Ecuador. <\/p>\n
He also announced the US will designate two of Ecuador’s largest criminal gangs, Los Lobos and Los Choneros, as foreign terrorist organisations. <\/p>\n
The comments come days after US forces carried out a strike on a boat in the Caribbean Sea. The White House says it killed 11 drug-traffickers, though it did not release their identities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Asked whether smugglers coming from US allies, like Mexico and Ecuador, could face “unilateral execution” from US forces, Rubio said “co-operative governments” would help identify smugglers.<\/p>\n
“The president has said he wants to wage war on these groups because they’ve been waging war on us for 30 years and no-one has responded.<\/p>\n
“But there’s no need to do that in many cases with the friendly governments, because the friendly governments are going to help us.”<\/p>\n
The Ecuadorian and Mexican governments have not said they would assist with military strikes.<\/p>\n
In the wake of Tuesday’s strike on the vessel in the southern Caribbean<\/a>, President Donald Trump said the military operation had targeted members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua as they transported illegal narcotics towards the US.<\/p>\n Legal experts told BBC Verify the strike may have violated international human rights and maritime law.<\/a><\/p>\n Late on Thursday, the defence department accused two Venezuelan military aircraft of flying near a US vessel in a “highly provocative move designed to interfere with our counter narco-terror operations”. Venezuela is yet to respond to the claim.<\/p>\n Also on Thursday, Rubio announced Washington would issue $13.5m (\u00a310m) in security aid and $6m in drone technology to help Ecuador crack down on drug trafficking.<\/p>\n Violence in Ecuador has soared in recent years as criminal gangs battle for control over lucrative cocaine routes.<\/p>\n According to government data, about 70% of the world’s cocaine now passes through Ecuador in transit from neighbouring producing countries, like Colombia and Peru, to markets in the US, Europe and Asia.<\/p>\n The designation of two groups was desired by the Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, who described his clampdown on criminal gangs as a “war.” <\/p>\n