The U.S. will declare the Ecuadorian criminal gang Los Tiguerones a terrorist organization.

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced during an official visit to Ecuador that the U.S. administration has designated the Ecuadorian criminal gang Los Tiguerones as a terrorist organization. The announcement was made in Quito on Wednesday, identifying the gang as one of the primary criminal groups driving violence in the country.

Alongside the terrorist designation for Los Tiguerones, Secretary Rubio also announced sanctions targeting seven former government officials for accepting bribes from criminal networks.