Ecuador ratifies military cooperation agreements with US

PHOTO CAPTION: U.S. Army Green Berets training an Ecuadorian partner force how to properly prepare a linear charge as they conduct explosive door breaching  and close quarter battle (CQB) in Manta, Ecuador, May 16, 2022. (U.S. Army photos by Staff Sgt. Matthew Griffith via U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service)

By Alexandra Valencia

QUITO (Reuters) - Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa on Thursday ratified two military cooperation agreements with the United States, including one for joint naval operations, amid a security offensive against criminal gangs in the Andean country.

Noboa earlier this year launched the operation against criminal groups, which he has designated terrorists, and has said he will accept all the help the international community can offer to fight organized crime in the country.

Though the agreements were signed by Noboa's predecessor, Guillermo Lasso, last year, the president ratified them via decree, after a favorable ruling from Ecuador's constitutional court.

One of the agreements will allow Ecuador to carry out joint operations with the United States to combat illegal activities such as drug trafficking, trafficking of weapons, people, and illegal fishing.

The government did not publish the content of the ratified agreements.

Senior U.S. officials visited Ecuador in recent weeks to discuss security cooperation.



(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia; Writing by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Bill Berkrot)