ECUADOR (TNND) — The United States is designating two Ecuadorian gangs as foreign terrorist organizations as part of the Trump administration's move against cartels, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Rubio traveled to Ecuador on Wednesday night to meet with leaders after the U.S. military struck an alleged drug vessel operated by the Tren de Aragua gang from Venezuela. President Donald Trump said 11 people were killed in the strike.

The move has raised concerns about whether the Trump administration will step up military activity to combat drug trafficking and illegal immigration.

"I’m meeting with President @DanielNoboaOk to strengthen the U.S.-Ecuador relationship, which ultimately makes both our nations more secure and more prosperous," Rubio said in an update on X. "We're aligned as key partners on ending illegal immigration and combatting transnational crime and terrorism."

Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa said Los Choneros and Los Lobos were declared terrorist groups by the United States and "with their (the U.S.) support we will remain firm in our fight to recover our country."

The designation, Rubio said, brings “all sorts of options” for the U.S. government to work in conjunction with the government of Ecuador to crack down on these groups.

That includes the ability to kill them as well as take action against the properties and banking accounts in the U.S. for the group’s members and people with ties to the criminal organizations, Rubio said, adding it would also help with intelligence sharing.

Rubio called them " vicious animals" and "terrorists.”

The meeting in Quito followed talks a day earlier with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, in which Rubio said the U.S. and Mexico "strengthened border security, taken action to dismantle the cartels, made progress towards sharing water resources, and promoted new economic opportunities."

The latest U.N. World Drug Report says various countries in South America, including Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, reported larger cocaine seizures in 2022 than in 2021, but it does not give Venezuela the outsized role that the White House has in recent months.

“The impact of increased cocaine trafficking has been felt in Ecuador in particular, which has seen a wave of lethal violence in recent years linked to both local and transnational crime groups, most notably from Mexico and the Balkan countries,” the report says.

Violence has skyrocketed in Ecuador since the COVID-19 pandemic, as drug traffickers expanded operations in the country and took advantage of the nation’s banana industry.

The South American country is the world’s largest exporter of bananas. Traffickers find maritime shipping containers filled with the fruit the perfect vehicle to smuggle their product.

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Editor's note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.