Erik Prince, military entrepreneur and founder of Blackwater USA, returns to the spotlight – this time in Latin America, where he presents his businesses as a solution to insecurity and organized crime.
Private military entrepreneurs (PMC) have long been part of the war in Latin America against drugs, generally under the leadership of the United States. But today, regional governments are increasingly turning to foreign entrepreneurs directly, in particular Prince, to obtain help for urgent security attacks.
Prince's career has long been imbued with controversy. In 2007, Blackwater entrepreneurs killed 17 civilians on Place Nisour in Baghdad during the war in Iraq. In 2021, the United Nations investigated him for having raped an embargo of Libyan weapons by providing weapons to a militia commander, allegations he denies.
Despite the controversies, Prince remains a figure respected in certain circles for the development of policies. He maintains close ties to US President Donald Trump and was informal advisor in foreign policy during Trump's first term.
See also:: How the Ecuador criminals take advantage of private security companies
However, at the end of Trump's first mandate, Prince was actually sidelined by officials who opposed his proposals to extend the use of mercenary forces worldwide, according to at CNN.
Now he seems to be influenced by Trump's orbit and follow the administration by focusing on Latin America. Its companies would pursue companies in Ecuador, Haiti, Peru and Salvador, offering consulting and anti-Gang drone services to expulsion programs.
Although these efforts serve Prince's commercial interests, they also align themselves with a more aggressive American approach in the region, in particular on drug trafficking and organized crime.
A hard approach in equator
Prince's most prominent company is in Ecuador, which now houses Latin America upper Homicide rate. A large part of the country was under a emergency Since the beginning of 2024, after prison riots and coordinated attacks against the security forces.
In March 2025, during his re -election campaign, the Ecuadorian president Daniel Noboa announcement A “strategic alliance” with Prince to combat organized crime, narcoterrorism and illegal fishing. Prince seems to act as a security consultant, advertisement To equip the police and the military of the equator with “tools and tactics to effectively fight against the Narco gangs”.
“The security forces and the American prince Erik are already on the ground fighting against narcoterrorism”, the Ministry of Defense of the Ecuador poster during his visit. The Minister of Defense, Gian Carlo Loffredo, confirmed that Prince and his team advise and form the Ecuadorian forces and have declared that their role could develop. However, the true scope of its involvement remains clear.
Mortal anti-gangs in Haiti
Since the beginning of 2025, Prince would have widened operations in Haiti, where the security crisis continues to worsen. Gangs now control About 85% of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
In March, the Haitian government hired several American entrepreneurs, including a company belonging to Prince, to carry out anti-Gangs lethal operations, according to at the New York Times. Prince recruited US Haitian military veterans for deployment in Port-au-Prince and should send up to 150 mercenaries and weapons expeditions during the summer, according to the report.
See also:: The drone strikes shaking the gangs of Haiti but leaving legal and strategic questions
Prince's company would have participated in drone operations that killed hundreds, although analysts consulted By Insight, the crime could not confirm its direct involvement. Rather, they underlined other opaque entrepreneurs hired by the Haitian government, but the details remain rare.
The US State Department said that he did not pay Prince or his business to work in Haiti, and Prince later recognized that he operated under the authority of the Haitian government, according to the same report by the New York Times.
Illegal extraction in the Peru reticle
Prince also recently traveled to Peru, where organized crime constitutes its presence as political agitation encourage legislators to challenge State crime capacities.
He met representatives of artisanal and official mining companies, and he planned to meet the police, soldiers, intelligence officials and even representatives of the president's office during his visit to Lima, Prince said Peruvian newspaper El Comercio.
Prince has promoted the services that his companies could offer, in particular training for the police, military units and “even for civil defense organizations affected by crime”, in a interview With the TV show Buenos Días Perú, accompanied by the presidential hope Hernando de Soto.
A mass deportation campaign in Salvador
El Salvador is another area of interest for Prince, who visited the Mega -Prison known as Terrorism Confainment Center (Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo – Cecot) in August 2024 and met President Nayib Bukele.
Since then, he launched the White House by supervising an operation to bring together tens of thousands of alleged immigrant criminal offenders and send them to Cecot, according to in Politico.
The plan would have been serious enough to be discussed By Trump and Bukele at the White House in April 2025. Since then, however, there has been no public sign of progress.
A risky bet with the limitations
While organized crime becomes more sophisticated and better armed, many Latin American governments turn to PMCs to complete the state forces that find themselves overwhelmed and outdated. But short -term deployments of private entrepreneurs do not deal with fundamental defects and weaknesses in state institutions.
“Private security companies are potentially excellent to” defend this building “or even” withdraw this card manager “. But these tactical missions do not necessarily create the strategic improvements in the security that Latin American countries need, “said James Bosworth, founder of the HXAGON Political Risk Society. “If you hire a business to perform police services for a year, what happens the following year? This does not improve the situation and potentially creates dependence on private companies.”
The use of PMC also raises wider questions about what governments aim to achieve and what private entrepreneurs can realistically achieve.
“Perhaps might be able to withdraw a few leaders from the crime,” Adam Isacson, Director of Defense Supervision, said. “But I do not see Erik Prince eliminating corrupt officials from the judicial system, the police and the military who allow organized crime.”
In addition, private entrepreneurs are often associated with human rights problems. They provide political coverage, allowing governments to take advantage of the advantages of aggressive tactics while potentially avoiding the political and legal consequences that could come with the use of official security forces.
“They are not subject to human rights standards,” said Isacson. “They offer a denial, so that they can be unleashed without blowing as much on the state.”
But for pressure governments to act quickly and show the results, optics and convenience of externalization of security can prevail over costs and risks in the long term.
There is no shortage of Latin America of local private security companies, so why do governments turn to foreign companies?
A major factor is confidence. In countries like Colombia and Ecuador, local security companies are often linked to organized crime. In March 2025, the Colombian authorities decree Members of three companies accused of providing weapons and skills securities to criminal groups.
In Ecuador, private companies have completed The security gaps left by the state, with mixed results. Legal reforms in 2024 favored coordination with the police, but some criminal groups have exploited it. In a case, a trafficker used the armored vehicles of his business to move cocaine.
See also:: Former police connect private security companies and crime groups in Colombia
Foreign PMCs, which are generally more equipped for military operations on a larger scale than local private security companies, offer certain advantages.
“They are less likely to be linked to Lobot,, Chonerosor other groups – unlike a military, police or justice system of the equator, “said Isacson.” They are less likely to be compromised internally by organized crime or corruption. They could still be bought finally, but they are fresh. »»
Technical expertise is another factor, because foreign PMCs often offer capacities soldiers or local businesses are missing. During Plan ColombiaFor example, American entrepreneurs like Dyncorp have stolen coca fumigation planes, while California microwave systems have carried out air surveillance.
Political reasons also take into account the equator, the Noboa alliance with Prince can be a strategic decision to strengthen links with the United States.
“The contribution of Prince's company shows the Trump administration that it is serious,” said Bosworth.
However, for many private security companies, conflict is not a problem to be resolved, but a commercial opportunity.
“Mercenaries do not like to work from a job,” said Sean McFate, professor of international relations and experts from groups of mercenaries.
Some entrepreneurs can even turn to criminal activities themselves, said McFate.
“They are not faithful to the state-they are faithful to the play,” he said. “They can shake you before a big campaign. It is essentially an organized crime – such as hiring a cartel to manage your safety. ”
