[Discussion] U.S. Green Berets Join Ecuadorian Anti-Drug Operations

U.S. Special Forces Operating in Ecuador

U.S. Army Green Berets are conducting joint operations with Ecuadorian forces against drug trafficking groups in Esmeraldas province, according to provincial governor Juan Jaramillo.

“We are with the 7th (Special Forces) Group of the U.S. Army…we are working together in the fight against narcoterrorism,” Jaramillo told reporters. He did not disclose the number of U.S. personnel involved or identify the groups being targeted.

Esmeraldas borders Colombia and has experienced violence linked to the drug trade. The 7th Special Forces Group, based at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, is primarily responsible for operations focused on South America.

U.S. Southern Command and the Navy’s 4th Fleet declined to comment on the reported operations, citing operational security.

Additional U.S. Military Assets

Ecuadorian Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo said Aug. 20 that two U.S. warships equipped with interceptor boats would patrol from the Ecuadorian port city of Manta.

The amphibious transport dock USS San Antonio recently passed through the Panama Canal into the eastern Pacific. The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Gridley also entered the Pacific under Joint Task Force-Western Hemisphere.

More than 1,000 Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit deployed to Puerto Rico this spring as Littoral Combat Force-24. Their mission is to disrupt networks used by designated terrorist organizations and groups the U.S. government describes as “narco-terrorists.” Some of those Marines are aboard the San Antonio.

Maritime and Land Strikes

In the latest confirmed maritime strike, U.S. forces fired on a vessel in the eastern Pacific that officials alleged was trafficking narcotics. Two people were killed, according to Southern Command. It was the first reported strike on an alleged drug boat since June and the first confirmed under Joint Task Force-Western Hemisphere, which replaced Joint Task Force-Southern Spear.

The broader campaign has included attacks on small vessels the Trump administration says were transporting drugs. More than 220 people have been killed since the campaign began in September 2025, although the United States has released little evidence concerning the targeted boats.

In March 2026, the U.S. carried out an airstrike against an alleged training camp in Ecuador near the Colombian border. The strike, conducted days after Southern Command announced joint operations, was the first direct U.S. military action reported inside Ecuador. No further U.S. operations in the country were publicly reported before Jaramillo’s disclosure.

Southern Command also conducted what it called a “lethal kinetic strike” in Venezuela in June, allegedly killing Tren de Aragua leader Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores.

Training and Bilateral Cooperation

Members of the 7th Special Forces Group were already present in Ecuador earlier in 2026. In May, they participated with Ecuadorian troops in a five-week Joint Combined Exchange Training program.

The expanded activity follows closer defense cooperation between Washington and the government of Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa. Ecuador has agreed to permit U.S. Department of Defense personnel to enter the country without visas for up to 180 days per year.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in June that the United States was prepared to conduct additional land strikes. He later said U.S. forces in the region were focused on military capabilities against threats that “need to be deterred and defeated.”

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