QUITO, Ecuador (Diya TV) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Ecuador Wednesday for talks with President Daniel Noboa focused on security, drug trafficking and bilateral cooperation.

Ecuador is the second stop on Rubio’s three-country South American tour. He visited Colombia Tuesday and is scheduled to travel to Peru after leaving Quito.

Rubio and Noboa are expected to discuss counternarcotics operations, transnational criminal organizations and economic ties between the United States and Ecuador. The two governments have expanded security cooperation as Ecuador confronts drug trafficking and organized crime.

Ecuador has experienced increased violence linked to criminal groups competing for control of drug-trafficking routes and ports. The country lies between Colombia and Peru, two of the world’s largest cocaine-producing countries.

Rubio’s visit comes as the United States has increased maritime operations against vessels it says support drug trafficking in the eastern Pacific.

U.S. forces on Tuesday intercepted and sank a vessel that Washington said was linked to the Ecuadorian criminal organization Los Choneros. It was the sixth such operation in less than two weeks, according to the Associated Press. People aboard the vessel were removed and transferred to Ecuadorian authorities before it was destroyed.

Ecuador has previously said several recent U.S. operations against vessels were part of a joint counternarcotics investigation. U.S. officials have described the vessels as floating refueling stations supporting maritime drug trafficking. Relatives of some crew members have disputed allegations that the vessels were involved in criminal activity.

The recent interceptions differ from earlier U.S. strikes on suspected drug-trafficking boats that began in September 2025. At least 227 people have been killed in those operations, according to an Associated Press tally. The Trump administration has described those targeted as “narcoterrorists,” though it has not publicly provided evidence supporting that designation in each case.

Before arriving in Ecuador, Rubio met Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella in Barranquilla. Their talks focused on counternarcotics cooperation, security and economic relations.

Rubio is scheduled to conclude the tour in Peru, where he will meet President Keiko Fujimori.