Quito, Ecuador - Ecuador said Thursday that the US had supplied it with two powerful drones to combat drug traffickers who have unleashed violence across the country.

he defense ministry on Instagram said the MQ-9 Reaper drones, which are capable of strikes, would be used for surveillance and intelligence gathering.

Ecuador is one of 14 Latin American countries allied to President Donald Trump that have joined his anti-cartel "Shield of the Americas."

Washington has already sent troops and military aircraft to the South American nation to combat a surge in violence linked to the cocaine trade.

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Quito will use the US drones to monitor its 730-kilometer (450-mile) border with Colombia, one of the main sources of the cocaine that flows through Ecuador's ports, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo said in a video posted on X.

"Drug trafficking will have less room to operate," the defense ministry vowed on Instagram.

The feared Reapers, widely used by the US in its war against Iran, serve chiefly for reconnaissance and precision strikes.

The US has reportedly been using Reaper drones for its deadly strikes on boats accused of drug trafficking in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean, including Ecuadorian fishing vessels.

Ecuador, once one of Latin America's safest countries, has become a key gateway to international markets for cocaine smuggled from neighboring  Colombia and Peru.

Mexican cartels have forged alliances with local gangs, two of which, Los Choneros and Los Tiguerones, have been designated as terrorist organizations by the US.