The US military is now targeting ‘designated terrorist organisations’ in Ecuador,just days after Donald Trump’s administration began a war with Iran.

It marks another foreign escalation by the United States,days after beginning strikes targeting nuclear facilities and government officials in Iran.

US Southern Command said the strikes represent ‘a powerful example of the commitment of partners in Latin America and the Caribbean to combat the scourge of narco-terrorism’.

The US has already used kinetic strikes against suspected drug vessels in the Caribbean as part of its new ‘war on drugs’ with Latin America.

Legal experts have questioned whether operations to curb drug imports by the Trump administration are compliant with international law,although the US is not a signatory to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The new operations in Ecuador are targeting Los Lobos and Los Choneros,two cartels which have been designated as foreign terrorist organisations.

President Daniel Noba said around 70% of the world’s cocaine supply flows through his country’s ports (Picture: AFP)

Unclassified footage of the operations were shared yesterday (Picture: US Southern Command)

Ecuador’s Defence Ministry is helping the operation,writing on social media: ‘WE ARE LAUNCHING A NEW PHASE AGAINST NARCOTERRORISM AND ILLEGAL MINING!

‘The Joint Command of the Armed Forces of Ecuador will continue to combat organised crime with resolve and strategic allies,for the safety of Ecuadorians and the peaceful future of our families.’

Ecuadoran President Daniel Noba said around 70% of the world’s cocaine supply flows through his country’s ports,and vowed to crack down on the crime.

Trump’s deployment of the military to the Caribbean earlier this year was a drastic change in the normal approach to intercepting drug trafficking boats.

The US deployed helicopters to the Latin American country (Picture: US Southern Command)

Ecuador has been trying to stop drug cartels (Picture: AFP)

The Coast Guard and law enforcement would work together to intercept,board the boats,and seize any illegal items.

The method now appears to ‘blow them up,get rid of them’. Those were the words of Secretary of State Marco Rubio in September.

Trump has cited his designation of the gangs he suspects to be behind the drug smuggling as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation as grounds to launch the deadly strikes.

Los Lobos and Los Choneros are close allies with both the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico and the The Jalisco New Generation Cartel,which was behind the chaos in Mexico last month.

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