Head of U.S. Southern Command Visits Ecuador Amid Anti-Cartel Push

Gen. Francis Donovan meets Ecuadorian counterpart to coordinate efforts against narco-terrorism

The commander of U.S. Southern Command traveled to Ecuador this week for a two-day visit focused on deepening military cooperation against drug-trafficking organizations, according to a release distributed via DVIDS.

Marine Corps Gen. Francis L. Donovan met with Gen. Henry Santiago Delgado Salvador, chief of the Joint Command of Ecuador's Armed Forces, to discuss bilateral defense partnership objectives, the release said.

The two commanders centered their talks on disrupting narco-terrorism and cartel activity, described as a key initiative of the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition. The coalition reflects a broader U.S. effort to enlist Latin American militaries in confronting drug-trafficking networks that American officials have increasingly framed in national-security terms rather than as a purely law-enforcement problem.

Ecuador has become a focal point in that campaign in recent years, as cartel-linked violence has surged in the country, straining its security forces and prompting closer coordination with the U.S. military.

— Compiled from a report by U.S. Southern Command, distributed via DVIDS.