US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa in Quito on September 4, confirming substantial security assistance as the South American nation continues its battle against organised crime and drug trafficking.

During a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld, Rubio announced $13.5mn in aid to help Ecuador combat drugs and crime, with an additional $6mn pending approval for drone acquisitions for the Ecuadorian Navy.

This could prove to be a positive step for Ecuador, with the country's homicide rate skyrocketing from 6 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2018 to 47 in 2023, as reported by Infobae.

"We had two very important meetings... I'll start with the topic of security: without security, it is impossible to advance economically, and that is something the Foreign Minister and President Noboa know," Rubio stated, as quoted by El Universo. "We're going to do everything possible to help them."

The US will designate Los Lobos and Los Choneros drug cartels as foreign terrorist organisations, providing both countries with enhanced tools to track and eliminate cartel leadership.

“You cannot have economic prosperity without stability, and you cannot have stability without security,” Rubio said. These are narco-terrorist organisations that operate in the region that are using Ecuador as a transit zone. And that needs to be confronted.”

On migration, Ecuador pledged full cooperation with the US deportation policies. Shifting to the topic of migration, Sommerfeld expressed Ecuador's full support for the US. "Ecuador is going to support the United States. It's symbolic, and it's important for our partner, and we're going to do it in a coordinated way," she said, as per AFP.

Furthermore, a senior State Department official confirmed Ecuador has agreed to accept third-country nationals deported from the United States, with implementation described as "very, very near."

“You have got a government [in Ecuador] that really is all in now in trying to break the stranglehold that these gangs and cartels had on the country,” the US official said, as quoted by CNN.

Rubio also raised the possibility of establishing a US military base in Ecuador, contingent on a formal request and review by the US Department of Defense and President Trump. "They asked us to leave during the (Rafael) Correa years, and we did. If they invite us back, we'll study it and see if it makes sense," he said.

Ecuador hosted US forces at the Manta air force base from the late 1990s until 2009, when former leftist president Rafael Correa cancelled the deal after coming to power.

The arrival of a US base on Ecuadorian soil would be a welcome development for the Noboa administration, which approved a constitutional reform allowing foreign military bases on its territory to enable such action.

This deepening security partnership marks a significant strengthening of ties between Ecuador and the US, potentially boosting Noboa's efforts against criminal organisations as his government seeks to curb drug-linked crime in Ecuador. However, Rubio notably avoided addressing Ecuador's concerns about US tariffs broadly imposed by Trump in recent months, leaving a key economic issue unresolved despite the enhanced cooperation framework.