US designates Ecuador's Chone Killers gang a foreign terrorist group

The U.S. State Department on Wednesday designated the Ecuadorean gang Chone Killers as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, slapping sanctions on the group it accused of committing numerous attacks targeting civilians and officials.



The State Department also designated the group as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.



"Chone Killers ... has committed numerous attacks targeting civilians, law enforcement officers, and government officials, including high-profile assassinations of public officials," Rubio said.



Under President Donald Trump's second term, the U.S. has sought to crack down on gangs, designating several as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and waging a campaign of deadly strikes against suspected drug trafficking boats off the Venezuelan coast and the Pacific coast of Latin America.