Erik Prince, military entrepreneur and founder of Blackwater USA, is returning to the spotlight – this time in Latin America, where he’s pitching his companies as a solution to insecurity and organized crime.
By Henry Shuldiner for Insight Crime
Private military contractors (PMCs) have long been part of Latin America’s war on drugs, typically under the direction of the United States. But today, regional governments are increasingly turning to foreign contractors directly, especially Prince, for help with urgent security crises.
Prince’s career has long been steeped in controversy. In 2007, Blackwater contractors killed 17 civilians in Baghdad’s Nisour Square during the Iraq War. In 2021, the United Nations investigated him for violating a Libyan arms embargo by supplying weapons to a militia commander, allegations he denies.
Despite the controversies, Prince remains a respected figure in some policymaking circles. He maintains close ties to US President Donald Trump and served as an informal foreign policy advisor during Trump’s first term.
However, by the end of Trump’s first term, Prince was effectively sidelined by officials who opposed his proposals to expand the use of mercenary forces globally, according to CNN.
Now, he appears to be regaining influence in Trump’s orbit and following the administration in turning his focus toward Latin America. His companies are reportedly pursuing ventures in Ecuador, Haiti, Peru, and El Salvador, offering services from anti-gang consulting and drone strikes to deportation programs.
While these efforts serve Prince’s business interests, they also align with a more aggressive US approach to the region, particularly on drug trafficking and organized crime.
A Hard-Line Approach in Ecuador
Prince’s most high-profile venture is in Ecuador, now home to Latin America’s highest homicide rate. Much of the country has been under a state of emergency since early 2024, following prison riots and coordinated attacks on security forces.
In March 2025, during his reelection campaign, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa announced a “strategic alliance” with Prince to combat organized crime, narcoterrorism, and illegal fishing. Prince appears to be acting as a security consultant, claiming to equip Ecuador’s police and military with “the tools and tactics to effectively combat the narco gangs.”
“Security forces and American Erik Prince are already on the ground fighting narcoterrorism,” Ecuador’s Ministry of Defense posted during his visit. Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo confirmed Prince and his team are advising and training Ecuadorian forces, and said their role could expand. Still, the true scope of his involvement remains unclear.
Lethal Anti-Gang Ops in Haiti
Since early 2025, Prince has reportedly expanded operations in Haiti, where the security crisis continues to worsen. Gangs now control an estimated 85% of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
In March, the Haitian government hired several US contractors, including a company owned by Prince, to carry out lethal anti-gang operations, according to The New York Times. Prince has been recruiting Haitian-American military veterans for deployment to Port-au-Prince and is expected to send up to 150 mercenaries and weapons shipments over the summer, the report said.
Prince’s company has reportedly taken part in drone operations that killed hundreds, though analysts consulted by InSight Crime could not confirm his direct involvement. They pointed instead to other opaque contractors hired by the Haitian government, but details remain scarce.
The US State Department said it is not paying Prince or his company for work in Haiti, and Prince later acknowledged he is operating under the authority of the Haitian government, according to the same New York Times report.
Illegal Mining in the Crosshairs in Peru
Prince also recently traveled to Peru, where organized crime is solidifying its presence as political turmoil is incentivizing lawmakers to defang the state’s crime-fighting abilities.
He met with representatives from both artisanal and formal mining companies, and he planned to meet with police, military, intelligence officials, and even representatives from the president’s office during his visit to Lima, Prince told Peruvian newspaper El Comercio.
Prince promoted services his companies could offer, including training for police, military units, and “even for civil defense organizations affected by crime,” in an interview with the television news show Buenos Días Perú, accompanied by the presidential hopeful Hernando de Soto.
A Mass Deportation Campaign in El Salvador
El Salvador is another area of interest for Prince, who toured the mega-prison known as the Terrorism Confinement Center (Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo – CECOT) in August 2024 and met with President Nayib Bukele.
Since then, he has pitched the White House on overseeing an operation to round up tens of thousands of alleged immigrant criminal offenders and send them to CECOT, according to Politico.
The plan was reportedly serious enough to be discussed by Trump and Bukele at the White House in April 2025. Since then, however, there have been no public signs of progress.
A Risky Bet With Limitations
As organized crime grows more sophisticated and better armed, many Latin American governments are turning to PMCs to supplement state forces that find themselves outgunned and out-resourced. But short-term deployments of private contractors do not address fundamental flaws and weaknesses in state institutions.
“Private security firms are potentially great for ‘defend this building’ or even ‘take out this cartel leader.’ But those tactical missions don’t necessarily create the strategic security improvements that Latin American countries need,” said James Bosworth, founder of the political risk firm Hxagon. “If you hire a firm to do some policing for a year, what happens the following year? It doesn’t improve the situation and potentially creates a dependency on the private firms.”
The use of PMCs also raises broader questions about what governments aim to achieve and what private contractors can realistically deliver.
“Maybe they could take out a few crime leaders,” said Adam Isacson, Director for Defense Oversight at WOLA. “But I don’t see Erik Prince rooting out the corrupt officials in the justice system, police, and military who enable organized crime.”
Additionally, private contractors are often associated with human rights concerns. They provide political cover, allowing governments to reap the benefits of aggressive tactics while potentially avoiding the political and legal consequences that could come with using official security forces.
“They’re not subject to human rights standards,” said Isacson. “They offer deniability, so they can go on a rampage without it blowing back as much on the state.”
But for governments under pressure to act quickly and show results, the optics and convenience of outsourcing security can outweigh long-term costs and risks.
Latin America has no shortage of local private security firms, so why are governments turning to foreign firms?
One major factor is trust. In countries like Colombia and Ecuador, local security companies are frequently linked to organized crime. In March 2025, Colombian authorities arrested members of three firms accused of supplying weapons and credentials to criminal groups.
In Ecuador, private firms have filled security gaps left by the state, with mixed results. Legal reforms in 2024 promoted coordination with police, but some criminal groups exploited this. In one case, a trafficker used his firm’s armored vehicles to move cocaine.
Foreign PMCs, which are typically more equipped for larger-scale military operations than local private security firms, offer certain advantages.
“They are less likely to be tied to the Lobos, Choneros, or other groups—unlike Ecuador’s military, police, or justice system,” said Isacson. “They’re less likely to be internally compromised by organized crime or corruption. They could still be bought off eventually, but they’re fresh.”
Technical expertise is another factor, as foreign PMCs often offer capabilities local militaries or firms lack. During Plan Colombia, for example, US contractors like DynCorp flew coca fumigation planes, while California Microwave Systems conducted aerial surveillance.
Political motives also factor in. In Ecuador, Noboa’s alliance with Prince may be a strategic move to strengthen ties with the United States.
“Bringing in Prince’s company demonstrates to the Trump administration that he’s serious,” said Bosworth.
Still, for many private security firms, conflict is not a problem to solve, but a business opportunity.
“Mercenaries don’t like to work themselves out of a job,” said Sean McFate, a professor of international relations and expert on mercenary groups.
Some contractors may even turn to criminal activities themselves, McFate pointed out.
“They’re not loyal to the state—they’re loyal to coin,” he said. “They can shake you down before a big campaign. It’s essentially organized crime—like hiring a cartel to run your security.”
Read the original article in its entirety on Insight Crime.
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