WASHINGTON, July 1 (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department on Wednesday designated the Ecuadorean gang Chone Killers as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, slapping sanctions on the group it accused of committing numerous attacks targeting civilians and officials.
The State Department also designated the group as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
“Chone Killers … has committed numerous attacks targeting civilians, law enforcement officers, and government officials, including high-profile assassinations of public officials,” Rubio said.
Under President Donald Trump’s second term, the U.S. has sought to crack down on gangs, designating several as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and waging a campaign of deadly strikes against suspected drug trafficking boats off the Venezuelan coast and the Pacific coast of Latin America.
“The Trump Administration, in partnership with Ecuador and President Daniel Noboa, will continue to protect our hemisphere by keeping illicit drugs off our streets and disrupting the revenue streams funding violent narcoterrorists,” Rubio said in the statement.
(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis; editing by Michelle Nichols )
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