US Lawmakers Urge Halt to Ecuador Operations Over 51 Disappearances
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · May 20
US Lawmakers Urge Halt to Ecuador Operations Over 51 Disappearances
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 20
A group of US lawmakers asked the Pentagon to immediately suspend joint operations with Ecuadorian forces in the north until alleged abuses are fully investigated, citing reports of serious violations and strikes on apparent civilian sites.
Their letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth followed scrutiny of a March operation near Ecuador’s northern border in which farm workers said soldiers beat, electrocuted and threatened to kill them during a mission carried out with US support.
The appeal comes as Ecuador’s military, empowered by President Daniel Noboa’s 2024 “internal armed conflict” decree, faces allegations of at least 51 forced disappearances, torture and extrajudicial killings that lawyers say are not being properly investigated.
Families and rights groups say prosecutors have struggled to obtain military records because the defense ministry treats key information as classified, while Western backing for Ecuador’s security campaign has continued to expand.
That support has not reversed the violence crisis: Ecuador recorded 50.9 murders per 100,000 people last year, up 31% from 2024, even as criticism grows that foreign aid lacks enforceable human-rights safeguards.
Are Western powers overlooking torture and disappearances by their allies while funding Ecuador's drug war?
As Ecuador's homicide rate hits a record high, is its war on crime fueling the violence it claims to fight?
Human Rights at Risk: US-Ecuador Military Operations Face Lawmaker Backlash Amid Record Violence
Overview
In May 2026, over 20 progressive House Democrats urgently called for the suspension of joint US-Ecuador military operations, citing alleged human rights abuses during missions earlier that year. Their concerns arose as Ecuador faced a severe wave of violence, with more than 9,200 homicides reported, leading the government to adopt a militarized security strategy. Lawmakers warned that continued military action, especially near the sensitive Ecuador-Colombia border, risked escalating regional tensions. This urgent appeal highlights the growing debate over the effectiveness and consequences of international military cooperation in addressing Ecuador’s deepening security crisis.