R. Evan Ellis, Latin America research professor at the U.S. Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute: “Both Colombia and Ecuador are strong partners with respect to security cooperation. Nonetheless, the relationship of each to the specific migratory and security challenges in Secretary Mayorkas’ portfolio as Homeland Security secretary are different, explaining why the two engagements were very different. For Colombia, with Venezuelan refugees passing through its territory to the Darién Gap, through Central America and on to the United States, the safe passage of those migrants was a key topic between Mayorkas and President Petro, building on commitments made during the Summit of the Americas. Ecuador, by contrast, despite hosting more than 500,000 Venezuelans, is not on the route of migrants heading for the U.S. border. For Ecuador, thus, talks between President Lasso and Secretary Mayorkas focused more on security cooperation. The Mexico-based Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels fueling unprecedented violence by local gangs in Ecuador are the…”