The U.S. State Department has labeled Ecuador’s Chone Killers street gang a foreign terrorist organization, a move Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced alongside the group’s additional classification as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist.” The designation imposes sanctions over what Washington describes as the gang’s repeated attacks on civilians, police, and public officials, including high-profile assassinations. Rubio linked the decision to a larger Trump administration effort targeting Latin American crime groups, alleging that Ecuadorian gangs assist Mexican cartels in drug trafficking that funds violent activity. Ecuador’s foreign ministry welcomed the move, thanking the U.S. for backing President Daniel Noboa’s military-led crackdown on gangs.