By Alexandra Valencia
“This is not something where action is taken lightly or the first time something suspicious is seen. The boats intercepted and sunk this week were being used as refueling stations for drug trafficking by the Los Choneros gang, the U.S.
“This is work carried out through international cooperation,” Ecuador’s Interior Minister, John Reimberg, told local broadcaster Teleamazonas. “These are investigations conducted with the United States precisely to determine what these vessels are doing, the logistics they are providing, so that drug shipments can ultimately be disrupted,” he said, adding refueling stations allow small speedboats to transport drugs to Mexican ports and then on to the United States. Southern Command said on X, where it also posted videos of the vessels being blown up after occupants were removed.
Though the U.S. government has claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks as part of Southern Spear, it has not claimed three others this year which bear the hallmarks of U.S. strikes, involving fishing vessels from Ecuador’s Manabi province.
The Ecuadorean Navy said late on Thursday that the crews of two vessels, a total of 28 people, would be transferred to the port city of Manta and were expected to arrive on Friday.
Other crew members, meanwhile, “remain at sea aboard their respective vessels.”
