Ecuador: US Army sinks a vessel allegedly used to support drug traffickers

The U.S. Army intercepted and sank a vessel that was allegedly used to support drug trafficking operations at sea by the Ecuadorian criminal organization Los Choneros, U.S. officials reported on Wednesday.

U.S. Southern Command (Southcom) stated in a post on X that its forces intercepted the vessel, which was operating as a "floating resupply station" to support Los Choneros in international waters in the eastern Pacific. The operation was carried out "in coordination and collaboration with the Government of Ecuador."

According to Southcom, the vessel was searched without incident and the individuals on board were handed over to Ecuadorian authorities. A low-quality video released alongside the message shows armed men boarding a vessel that was subsequently destroyed.

"We are taking decisive action to dismantle and destroy sophisticated logistics networks used by narco-terrorists to traffic drugs and spread violence throughout the Western Hemisphere," said Gen. Francis Donovan, head of U.S. Southern Command, in the post.

The operation followed a similar action carried out on Friday, in which U.S. forces destroyed another vessel linked to the Ecuadorian criminal organization, considered one of the country's leading groups engaged in drug trafficking and extortion.

Families search for missing fishermen

While the United States was reporting on the operation, in the Ecuadorian port city of Manta, a group of fishermen's family members was seeking information about their loved ones after losing contact with them.

"They are fishermen, they struggle to bring food to our homes, for our children. We want answers, we want to know about them, if they are okay," Olivia Holguín, sister of the captain of one of the vessels, told AFP.

According to the families, the boat set out on Friday for a day of fishing, and the crew reported seeing helicopters and military vessels approaching.

AFP was unable to verify whether that vessel was the same one that was destroyed by U.S. forces.

More than 200 killed in operations against vessels

A year ago, the U.S. military launched Operation Southern Spear. President Donald Trump maintains that Washington is, in effect, at war with the drug cartels operating out of Latin America.