Ecuador and United States sign agreements against money laundering, kidnapping and illegal mining
Ecuador and the United States subscribed to two Project Implementation Letters to strengthen bilateral security cooperation. The agreements target financial analysis, the UNASE and illicit gold trafficking.
Quito seals two security pacts with Washington on three strategic fronts
Ecuador and the United States signed on Friday two Project Implementation Letters aimed at intensifying bilateral cooperation in security matters, according to efe.com citing a statement from the United States Embassy in Quito released on its X account.
The agreements cover three areas: tracking illicit financial flows, combating kidnapping and extortion, and neutralising gold trafficking linked to illegal mining.
United States technology for the UAFE
The first agreement envisages the incorporation of financial analysis technology of United States origin in the Financial and Economic Analysis Unit (UAFE), with the purpose of identifying criminal networks and tracing the origin of funds from illicit activities, including money laundering.
Operational reinforcement of the UNASE
The second agreement aims to strengthen the operational and investigative capacities of the National Anti-kidnapping and Extortion Unit (UNASE), which is undergoing a transformation process towards a national directorate. The objective is to dismantle organisations that use kidnapping and extortion as sources of financing.
The signatories
Present at the event were United States Under Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), F. Cartwright Weiland, and the Embassy's Chargé d'Affaires, Lawrence Petroni. On the Ecuadorian side, Defence Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo, Interior Minister John Reimberg, Secretary General of Public Administration José Julio Neira, and President Daniel Noboa participated.
Context: state of armed conflict and homicide record
Ecuador has maintained since 2024 a state of "internal armed conflict" decreed by Noboa to intensify operations against criminal gangs, which the government classifies as "terrorist". Despite these measures, 2025 closed with approximately 9,300 homicides in the country, according to figures from the Interior Ministry, which constitutes a historical record.
Source: Google News EC — Crime