(Tribune News Service) — Ecuador’s embattled president said he received a pledge of aid from the U.S. to help contain the terror campaign by drug traffickers.

“We had a meeting with U.S. Ambassador Fitzpatrick yesterday afternoon after the decree and he said in a few days, 2-3 days, they’ll arrive in Ecuador with an assistance package,” President Daniel Noboa said Wednesday in an interview with radio network Canela.

The nation’s dollar bonds erased losses, with notes due in 2035 rising to 36 cents on the dollar, according to indicative pricing data collected by Bloomberg.

A crackdown on drug trafficking triggered the war between gangs and the Ecuadorian state, Noboa said. The crisis erupted after a notorious drug trafficker vanished from his cell at the weekend.

Noboa, who took office six weeks ago, has declared a state of emergency and called out the army to try to rein in the cartels. They responded by organizing prison riots, storming a TV station, torching cars and taking police hostage.

Streets in Ecuador were quieter than usual on Wednesday after the government ordered schools closed and public offices shifted to remote work. Many private-sector offices have followed suit.

Noboa said the tension with the gangs increased when his government began applying measures to control trafficking routes along roads and ports.

“We’re in a state of war and we can’t yield to these terrorists,” he said.

Homicides have surged in parallel with seizures of cocaine shipments in the past five years, making Ecuador one of the world’s most dangerous nations.

The U.S. embassy in Quito didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

The U.S. is “extremely concerned” by the violence and is ready to provide assistance to the Ecuadorian government, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Brian Nichols said in a post on X Tuesday.

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