The idea of using warfighters as crime fighters is finding favor in Washington, as the White House tees up the use of military force against cartels. However, using the U.S. military to police drug traffickers in Mexico or elsewhere in Latin America would be ineffective, lead to endless mission creep, and ultimately endanger the Trump administration’s other foreign policy goals.
While talk of deployments to counter cartels often focuses on Mexico, the U.S. has quietly been preparing to actually test this disastrous idea in Ecuador.
Ecuador has a major crime problem. The homicide rate has rocketed from one of the region’s lowest to the highest on the continent as gangs openly battle over control of cocaine shipments. Now, Ecuador is looking abroad for help.
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