The United States and Ecuador launched joint military operations targeting what U.S. officials describe as designated terrorist organizations involved in drug trafficking, U.S. Southern Command announced Tuesday.

Southern Command, which oversees U.S. military activities across 31 countries in South and Central America and the Caribbean, said the operations represent "decisive action" against narco-terrorist groups operating in Ecuador. The command provided few details about the scope or specific targets of the operations in its announcement on social media.

The joint operations mark what appears to be the first land-based U.S. military action against criminal organizations in Ecuador, representing a significant expansion of security cooperation between the two countries. The Pentagon characterized the effort as targeting organized crime groups involved in illicit drug trafficking activities.

Ecuador has faced increasing violence from drug trafficking organizations in recent years, with criminal groups exploiting the country's strategic location along major cocaine trafficking routes from Colombia and Peru to North American and European markets.

U.S. Southern Command did not specify which terrorist organizations were being targeted or provide details about the duration or scale of the operations. The announcement comes as the United States has intensified efforts to combat drug trafficking throughout Latin America, including previous operations involving the destruction of suspected drug-trafficking vessels in regional waters.