Ecuador defends US sinking of vessels as joint anti-drug operation

What the report says

Ecuador has defended a US maritime operation that sank three vessels in the eastern Pacific, saying the action was part of joint investigations with Washington into drug-smuggling networks. According to Al Jazeera, Ecuadorian Interior Minister John Reimberg said the boats were being used as refueling points for speedboats that carry narcotics north toward Mexico and the United States. The US Southern Command also said one vessel had been operating as a floating refueling station linked to the Los Choneros gang.

The report says US forces boarded and later sank at least one vessel after removing people on board, with the Ecuadorian navy receiving 28 crew members from that boat and another sunk the previous day. The detainees were taken to Manta, Ecuador’s main fishing port, while relatives gathered there seeking information about missing family members.

The operation has drawn disputes over the identity of those detained. Family members told Reuters that the men were fishermen and not smugglers, and one relative said no drugs were found. Those claims were not independently verified in the article. Video released by SOUTHCOM showed a vessel being approached, boarded and then destroyed at sea, though the location and timing of the footage were not independently confirmed.

The incidents come amid the Trump administration’s wider campaign against alleged maritime drug trafficking, which has raised concern in parts of Latin America over the use of lethal force on international waters.