Ecuador Asks Paraguay to Designate Five Criminal Groups as Terrorists

The Request

Ecuador's foreign minister, Gabriela Sommerfeld, formally asked her Paraguayan counterpart, Rubén Ramírez Lezcano, to designate five Ecuadorian criminal groups as terrorist organizations during a high-level meeting in Quito. Per Infobae.

The five groups named:

"Los Choneros, Los Lobos, Los Tiguerones, Chone Killers y Latin Kings."

All five are among the most violent and deeply rooted organizations operating in Ecuador's ongoing internal security crisis. Los Choneros and Los Lobos in particular have been tied to major prison massacres, political assassinations, and the country's current homicide trajectory.

The Diplomatic Context

The request is part of Ecuador's ongoing international push to get allies to adopt the "terrorist organization" framing it has used domestically since early 2024, when President Noboa declared an internal armed conflict against the groups. That framing has been politically useful at home and has already been echoed by two other countries:

• United States — has designated Los Choneros and Los Lobos as terrorist organizations.
• Argentina — has also moved in that direction.

Getting more countries on board matters for extradition, asset freezes, financial sanctions, and international law enforcement cooperation. Each new designation makes it harder for these organizations to operate across borders.

Paraguay's Response

Per Infobae, Paraguay's response was "non-immediate and non-conclusive" — meaning Asunción is neither rejecting nor adopting the request on the spot. That's a standard diplomatic hedge while domestic legal review happens. For context: Paraguay has its own organized crime concerns (primarily tied to the Brazilian PCC) and has been cautious about adopting terrorist designations that could create diplomatic complications with larger neighbors.

What's Scheduled Next

• July 2026: A Paraguayan presidential visit to Ecuador. This is when the terror designation conversation will likely come to a head at the leader level.
• September 2, 2026: A permanent coordination commission meeting in Asunción.
• Future agreements planned: interior ministry cooperation, extradition, open skies aviation.

Both countries also share membership in ALADI (Latin American Integration Association) and the OAS, which provides an existing framework for deeper coordination.

What This Means for Expats

• This is continuation, not a change of direction. The Noboa administration has been consistently pursuing international recognition of its domestic security framing since 2024. The Paraguay request fits the same pattern as its prior appeals to the US, Argentina, and others.
• The practical impact is slow but compounding. Each new designating country tightens the financial and operational noose on the named groups. Over time, this does make a difference to how these organizations move money, personnel, and weapons.
• It doesn't change day-to-day safety in Ecuador in the short run. Nothing in this announcement makes the streets of Guayaquil, Manta, Machala, or Salinas any safer this month. The groups being designated are already operating at full capacity domestically.
• Watch the July presidential visit. That's when we'll find out if Paraguay actually moves forward or politely declines. A visible leader-level agreement would be a meaningful win for Ecuador's diplomacy; a quiet pass would signal limits to the international designation strategy.
• If you follow Latin American regional security, this is a data point worth filing. Ecuador is steadily building a coalition of countries that treat its criminal organizations the way the US treats transnational designated terrorist entities. That's a medium-term structural shift.

Source: Infobae