US lawmakers demand the Pentagon suspend its alleged anti-drug operations in Ecuador
A group of Democrats has written a letter expressing their concern about possible human rights violations during the mission
A group of U.S. lawmakers has called on the Pentagon to immediately suspend joint military operations with Ecuadorian forces in the north of the country, targeting drug trafficking “terrorist organizations” active in the area. In a letter sent to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and seen by EL PAÍS, the legislators demand that the mission be halted pending an investigation into the incidents and ask for clarification of the legal basis for U.S. involvement, which has not been authorized by Congress.
The letter, spearheaded by Democratic representatives Chuy García, Greg Casar, and Sara Jacobs, is signed by around 20 lawmakers, mostly from the party’s progressive wing, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ro Khanna. It is also backed by human rights organisations such as Amnesty International USA, the Centre for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), and the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA). It was made public at the start of a two-day visit to Washington by Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, who is due to meet Vice President J. D. Vance and OAS Secretary General Albert Ramdin, among others.
“We are deeply concerned by reports of serious human rights violations and the bombing of what appear to have been civilian facilities during joint U.S.-Ecuador military operations conducted in northern Ecuador in early March,” reads the letter, which gives the Pentagon 10 days, until May 22, to respond.
The lawmakers refer to a joint operation announced by U.S. Southern Command (SouthCom), which oversees U.S. forces in Latin America, on March 3 against “designated terrorist organizations in Ecuador.” Six days later, U.S. President Donald Trump informed Congress that U.S. forces had taken part on March 6 in military actions against “the facilities of narco-terrorists affiliated with a designated terrorist organization.” The administration has provided no further details, meaning that “the scope of U.S. military involvement in Ecuador remains unclear, both to Congress and the American public,” the lawmakers warn.
They also cite statements from senior Pentagon officials pointing to a more extensive U.S. role in the operation. Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Western Hemisphere Affairs Joseph Humire told the House Armed Services Committee that on March 3, the Pentagon supported, “at the request of Ecuador,” bilateral kinetic actions against cartels in the border region. “The joint effort, named ‘Operation Total Extermination,’ is the start of a military offensive by Ecuador against transnational criminal organizations with the support of the U.S.”
Meanwhile, SouthCom commander General Francis Donovan told the Senate Armed Services Committee on March 19 that “special operations forces, including both ground forces and air forces, could quickly plan with the Ecuadorians to ensure that any use of force fell within our requirements.” He added: “[I was] very impressed on how the Ecuadorians operated on both those operations… very professional planning. I took part in both, observing both.”
A report published in late March by The New York Times suggested that one of the targets may have been a cattle farm used for milk production, with no known links to drug trafficking or organized crime. The report cited witnesses who said that Ecuadorian military personnel attacked and questioned unarmed civilians, set fire to homes, and carried out acts of torture on March 3 at the site that was bombed three days later.
The operations took place in the border region between Ecuador and Colombia, described in the letter as “highly sensitive and volatile.” Military activity there risks fuelling cross-border tensions that could escalate into a broader armed confrontation, they warn. “Indeed, in mid-March, the discovery of an unexploded Ecuadorian bomb that was found on the Colombian side of the border caused a diplomatic crisis between the two countries,” the letter states.
Beyond these incidents, lawmakers express concern about closer ties between the U.S. military and the government of Daniel Noboa, a close ally of President Trump, whom they accuse of an “alarming authoritarian and anti-democratic drift.” They cite, among other developments, “the violent repression of Indigenous-led protests,” public threats against the Constitutional Court, and the freezing of civil society organizations’ bank accounts.
The letter says: “Ecuadorians have endured more than two years of a prolonged state of emergency, marked by the military’s domestic deployment to combat so-called ‘narco-terrorists.’ This militarized strategy has failed to reduce drug trafficking or violence,” argue the lawmakers. “Ecuador recorded its highest homicide rate on record last year,” they add — more than 9,200 deaths in total.
The letter concludes: “The United States cannot credibly claim to promote the rule of law while supporting or enabling abusive practices abroad. Nor can it afford to escalate military operations in a volatile border region without mandatory Congressional authorization, clear safeguards, accountability, and respect for human rights.”
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