28 Crew Members Reach Ecuador After US Forces Sink Two Boats in Pacific

Twenty-eight men from two boats sunk after being intercepted by US forces arrived in the Ecuadorian port city of Manta on Friday, as relatives gathered outside the harbor demanding answers.

Ecuador's Navy said nine men from the Conquista II and 19 from the OM2 reached Manta aboard a coast guard vessel at about 3 p.m. local time. Authorities carried out the relevant procedures after their arrival. Local media reported that the men were taken to a police facility. Eight other people from the Conquista II were still traveling toward the port on another vessel.

The men were detained between Wednesday and Thursday by the US Joint Task Force-Western Hemisphere. The US Southern Command alleges that the boats operated as floating refueling stations and supported drug-trafficking operations for Los Choneros, described as Ecuador's oldest criminal group.

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This is the result of an investigation. These are boats that were used as logistics platforms for other small boats that would moor there, loaded with drugs, and then head toward Mexican ports and later to the United States. This is work carried out through international cooperation.

Interior Minister John Reimberg said the case resulted from an investigation. He told Teleamazonas that the boats supplied smaller vessels loaded with drugs, which then headed toward Mexican ports and ultimately the United States. The operation, he said, involved international cooperation.

The families reject that account. They say the detained men are fishermen who had gone to sea to work. Relatives held signs reading "No to the abuse against our fishermen" and "They are innocent, they are not criminals." The protest also included relatives of eight Ecuadorian fishermen missing since January after leaving to fish aboard the Fiorella. Amnesty International and other organizations have called for an investigation into the alleged US role in that disappearance and two other attacks on Ecuadorian boats near the Galapagos Islands in March.

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What does President Daniel Noboa want? For the entire fishing community to turn to stealing because there is no work? This is the family's only livelihood.