State Department · Thursday, September 10, 2026
Rubio designates Los Tiguerones a foreign terrorist group in Ecuador
The File desk · Sep 10, 2026, 2:12 PM UTC
Status
Confirmed from State Department releases dated Sept. 9, 2026: the Los Tiguerones designation, the National Order of Merit ceremony in Quito, the designations, and the Sept. 9 public schedule.
Marco Rubio’s Ecuador day mixed a medal and a terrorist listing. In Quito on Sept. 9, President Daniel Noboa gave him the National Order of Merit in the grade of Grand Cross. The same day the State Department designated Los Tiguerones — an Ecuador gang tied to narcotrafficking and attacks, including a 2024 television-station takeover — as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. The department also designated seven former Ecuadorian officials under for corruption linked to foreign terrorist groups. Those designations generally bar U.S. entry.
Marco Rubio’s Ecuador day mixed a medal and a terrorist listing.
In Quito on Sept. 9, at Palacio de Carondelet, President Daniel Noboa conferred the National Order of Merit in the grade of Grand Cross on the secretary. The public schedule had Rubio meeting Noboa at 12:10 p.m. local.
The same day the State Department designated Los Tiguerones as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. The department described the group as an Ecuador-based gang linked to narcotrafficking and to attacks on civilians, police, and journalists, including the live takeover of an Ecuadorian television station in 2024.
Those actions were taken under and . Foreign Terrorist Organization designations take effect when they are published in the Federal Register.
Separately, the department designated seven former Ecuadorian officials under of the . The spokesman’s note says the law requires designation when there is credible information of significant corruption. The seven and their immediate families are generally barred from entering the United States.
The broader trip still runs through Peru on Sept. 10.
What is still unknown or disputed
- Federal Register publication of the Los Tiguerones Foreign Terrorist Organization listing was not fetched as a separate document in this pass.
Primary sources
Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.
Source 1
Terrorist Designation of Los Tiguerones
U.S. Department of State · September 9, 2026
Designating Los Tiguerones as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. Ecuador-based gang; 2024 television station takeover. Actions pursuant to and .
https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2026/09/terrorist-designation-of-los-tiguerones
Source 2
Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the National Order of Merit in the Grade of Grand Cross Ceremony
U.S. Department of State · September 9, 2026
Palacio de Carondelet, Quito. President Daniel Noboa confers National Order of Merit, Grand Cross, on Rubio. Decree dated Sept. 9, 2026.
https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2026/09/secretary-of-state-marco-rubio-at-the-national-order-of-merit-in-the-grade-of-grand-cross-ceremony
Source 3
Designations of Former Ecuadorian Officials for Involvement in Significant Corruption Linked to Foreign Terrorist Organizations
U.S. Department of State · September 9, 2026
Seven former officials designated under of the (Div. F, P.L. 119-75). Generally ineligible for U.S. entry, with immediate family members.
https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2026/09/designations-of-former-ecuadorian-officials-for-involvement-in-significant-corruption-linked-to-foreign-terrorist-organizations
Source 4
Public Schedule – September 9, 2026
U.S. Department of State · September 9, 2026
Rubio on travel Colombia, Ecuador, Peru Sept. 8–10. Quito: meets President Noboa 12:10 p.m. local (pooled camera spray at top).
https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2026/09/public-schedule-september-9-2026