Marco Rubio Names Los Tiguerones a Terror Group After They Held Journalists Hostage on Air

Marco Rubio doesn’t mess around when it comes to threats against American interests, and his latest move proves it. The Secretary of State just slapped a foreign terrorist organization designation on Los Tiguerones, an Ecuadorian gang that’s been doing the dirty work for Mexican cartels and causing chaos across South America. This isn’t just bureaucratic paperwork. It’s a declaration that we’re done treating these criminal enterprises like they’re just another street gang problem south of our border.

You know what? The designation was overdue. Los Tiguerones earned their terror label the hard way, most notably with that stomach-turning attack on TC Television in Guayaquil back in 2024. Armed thugs stormed a live broadcast, forced employees to the floor at gunpoint, and allegedly shoved a stick of dynamite into someone’s pocket. For fifteen minutes, the whole thing played out on live TV before someone finally cut the feed. Think about that for a second. Journalists doing their jobs, suddenly facing death on camera while the world watched.

That’s not organized crime. That’s terrorism, plain and simple.

Rubio made the announcement while visiting Quito as part of a three-nation swing through Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia. He’s building security partnerships because someone has to, and frankly, the previous administration’s approach to Latin American cartels was about as effective as bringing a water gun to a wildfire. These gangs aren’t operating in a vacuum. They’re helping Mexican cartels move drugs that eventually flood American streets, and they’re bankrolling attacks against law enforcement, civilians, and anyone else who gets in their way.

The designation means Los Tiguerones gets cut off from U.S. financial assets, property, and any resources they might’ve been using through our system. It’s economic warfare, and it works. When you strangle the money flow, these operations start collapsing from the inside. Rubio also announced he’s going after seven former Ecuadorian government officials who took bribes and sold out their own people. Corruption isn’t a victimless crime when it enables terrorists to operate freely.

Los Tiguerones joins three other groups on the terror list, including Los Lobos and Los Choneros, designated back in July. Rubio called them “violent, bloodthirsty terrorist organizations,” and he’s right. These aren’t kids spray-painting graffiti or running small-time protection rackets. They’re sophisticated operations with international connections, military-grade weapons, and zero regard for human life.

The situation in Ecuador has deteriorated rapidly over the past few years. What was once a relatively stable country has become a battleground for competing criminal organizations, all fighting for control of drug trafficking routes to North America and Europe. The violence spills over into everything. Schools close. Businesses shutter. Regular people live in fear.

And here’s the thing about designating these groups as terrorists rather than just criminal organizations. It matters legally and strategically. It opens up different tools for prosecution, freezes assets more effectively, and sends a message to anyone thinking about doing business with them. Banks won’t touch them. Legitimate companies won’t risk association. International partners have to cooperate or face consequences themselves.

This is what serious foreign policy looks like. Not empty rhetoric or diplomatic niceties that accomplish nothing. Real consequences for real threats. Rubio understands that national security doesn’t stop at our borders, especially when these organizations are actively working to poison American communities with fentanyl and other drugs.

The television station attack wasn’t just about intimidation. It was a message that these groups consider themselves untouchable, powerful enough to terrorize journalists during a live broadcast. Well, message received, and here’s our response. You want to play terrorist? You get treated like terrorists, with everything that entails.