Ecuadorian drug trafficker and ex-convict in the US: Details revealed about one survivor of Caribbean bombings

The background of one of the few survivors of U.S. attacks on drug trafficking-linked vessels in the Caribbean surfaced this weekend, shedding a little more precision on the military strategy pushed by the administration of President Donald Trump against organized crime networks on the high seas.

According to a Washington Post investigation, one of those rescued after one of the Oct. 16 bombings against a semi-submersible vessel was Andres Fernando Tufiño Chila, an Ecuadorian citizen with a criminal record in the United States, where in 2021 he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and served more than three years in prison before being deported to Ecuador, where he was released and eventually returned to trafficking drugs.

The attack was part of a military offensive launched since September by Washington against what the White House defines as "narco-terrorists," as part of a policy that equates drug cartels with international terrorist organizations. Trump himself, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have publicly defended the attacks as a response to what they consider an "existential" threat to the United States from drug trafficking.

The case of Tufiño Chila, whose relatives caused a stir in the press after claiming that he was not involved in drug trafficking, exposed that the U.S. attacks targeted people involved in drug trafficking.

However, despite Tufiño Chila's background, Washington Post experts claimed that, despite having survived the attack and having been described by the president as a "narco-terrorist," the survivor was repatriated to Ecuador without U.S. forces providing material evidence that would allow his arrest or prosecution.

In fact, in a matter of hours, the survivor was released. This continues to raise doubts about the legality of the attacks, which are highly contested by Democrats and experts who claim that the sinkings are in breach of international law.

While some experts say the lethal strikes, by not leading to arrests or prosecutions, are impeding broader investigations against criminal structures and could constitute extrajudicial killings under international law, U.S. officials are clear that the old method of dealing with drug trafficking was not working and this is a much clearer way to establish a deterrent effect.

The Pentagon, even, commented to The Washington Post that the report confirms what authorities have said: the crews of these vessels are not just fishing boats, but drug traffickers.

“We have consistently said that our intelligence did indeed confirm these boats were trafficking narcotics destined for America,” Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell wrote. “That same intelligence also confirms that the individuals involved in these drug operations are/were narco-terrorists, and we stand by that assessment.”