Ecuador Goes to 'War,' With US Help

Ecuador is rolling out its biggest anti-drug push in years, and this time Washington is openly in the mix. The government on Sunday launched a two-week crackdown on drug gangs with US support under a new presidential declaration. "We're at war," Ecuadorian Interior Minister John Reimberg warned, per CBS News. More:

• The two countries are part of a 17-country cartel-fighting alliance announced by Trump at a summit earlier this month. Other reported members include Argentina, Paraguay, Honduras, El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic.
• Established by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition represents "a pledge from military leaders and representatives from 17 countries" to use "hard power to defeat these threats," according to Trump's March 7 directive.
• Trump further vowed the US would prep and train other nations' militaries with the aim of dismantling cartels and ending their campaigns of violence and intimidation.

• President Daniel Noboa has focused on cocaine traffickers for two years, but killings, disappearances, and extortion remain high.
• Some 75,000 soldiers and police officers, backed by armored vehicles and helicopters, are being deployed, and nighttime curfews are in place across four coastal provinces, the BBC reports.
• "We're at war," said Reimberg, urging residents to stay home and telling criminal groups "your time is up" and "nothing can stop us," per CBS.
• Officials didn't say whether US troops will operate on the ground. Joint strikes were carried out earlier this month.
• In a sign of deepening ties, the FBI opened its first Ecuadorian office last week, per Reuters. Reimberg said agents were "permanently in Ecuador working with a national police unit." The US Embassy in Quito said the focus would be on drug trafficking and terrorism financing.