A group of congressional lawmakers is expressing profound concerns over surging authoritarianism in Ecuador, a country with which the Trump Administration has deepened military ties despite the rapid erosion of democracy and human rights there.
Democratic Congressional Representatives Jesús “Chuy” García, Jonathan Jackson, and Greg Casar joined 10 colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio to denounce the rising repression.
The members urged Secretary Rubio to “immediately suspend all U.S. security assistance and military cooperation with the Noboa administration until democracy and the rule of law are fully restored, and the persecution of González and other opposition figures and parties cease.”
The recent arrest of former presidential candidate Luisa González and the crackdown on other opposition officials and parties marks the latest alarming phase in Ecuador’s descent into de facto one-party rule by President Daniel Noboa and his allies.
Military officers ride in the back of a truck during a ceremony of the military change of command at Eloy Alfaro Military School on November 26, 2025 in Quito, Ecuador. (Photo by Franklin Jacome/Agencia Press South/Getty Images)
The letter outlines how under President Daniel Noboa, “Ecuador has seen the repression of opposition actors across the political spectrum, attacks on judicial independence, and restrictions on the freedom of the press.”
Other concerns expressed by the congressional representatives about the Noboa government include its undermining of the judiciary, a prolonged “state of emergency” under which Noboa has claimed extraordinary powers, restricted civil liberties and human rights violations. Among the abuses is torture, extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, and sexual abuse in women’s prisons.
The lawmakers warned Rubio that if the Trump Administration fails to take action to deter the Noboa government’s authoritarian actions, Congress will use the tools at its disposal to compel a change of policy in the United States.
They concluded, “The United States cannot credibly claim to support democracy and the fight against drug-trafficking and organized crime while at the same time expanding its security relationship with a government that is rapidly tightening its authoritarian grip on power.”
In addition to Representatives García, Jackson, and Casar, the letter was signed by: Representatives Jasmine Crockett, from Texas; Adelita Grijalva, from Arizona; Hank Johnson, from Georgia; Ro Khanna, from California; Summer Lee, from Pennsylvania; Eleanor Holmes Norton, from Washington DC; Delia Ramirez and Jan Schakowsky, from Illinois; Rashida Tlaib, from Michigan; and Nydia Velázquez, from New York.
A full copy of the letter can be found here.
Good, and also, how about we stop starving Cuba?