Conditional Release Granted to 32 Crew Members of Two Ecuadorian Boats Destroyed by U.S.

Thirty-two Ecuadorian crew members from two boats destroyed by the United States in the Pacific were granted conditional release on Tuesday after being prosecuted over alleged criminal association.

The men served aboard the Conquista 2, which authorities intercepted and sank last Wednesday, and the María Candelaria, destroyed on Saturday. They arrived in the port city of Manta on Monday as relatives protested and denied that the crew had links to drug trafficking.

A judge ruled that their detention at sea had been lawful. At the prosecutor’s request, she ordered the men released on the condition that they remain in Ecuador and report once a week to the prosecutor handling the case.

Steven Alvia, a lawyer for several of the defendants, rejected the investigation and said prosecutors had no evidence of the alleged offense. “We trust in the country’s justice system, and that on Sept. 28 the innocence of our clients will be confirmed,” he told local media, referring to the date he said a direct-procedure hearing would take place.

The case follows the sinking or destruction of at least five Ecuadorian boats by the U.S. Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere since Aug. 28, in coordination with Ecuador’s government. U.S. Southern Command says the vessels served as floating refueling stations and supported drug-trafficking operations for Los Choneros, Ecuador’s oldest criminal group, which the United States has linked to Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel and designated as terrorist.

A judge on Saturday released 28 crew members from the Conquista 2 and the OM2 after finding no evidence of a crime. Fishermen and relatives have also reported alleged attacks on three other boats near the Galápagos in January and March, including one incident in which eight fishermen disappeared. Neither the United States nor Ecuador has acknowledged those attacks. The Washington Post reported that they formed part of a covert CIA operation separate from the U.S. counternarcotics campaign in the Caribbean and Pacific. The missing fishermen left aboard the Fiorella in January, and Amnesty International has called for an investigation into alleged U.S. involvement.

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We trust in the country’s justice system, and that on Sept. 28 the innocence of our clients will be confirmed