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🇵🇾 Paraguay /Conflict & Security

U.S. Destroys Fifth Boat Allegedly Linked to Ecuadorian Gang Los Choneros

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Named sources Ongoing story
  • A U.S. task force destroyed a boat that it said operated as a floating fuel station supporting drug-trafficking operations by Ecuador’s Los Choneros gang.
  • The operation marked the fifth Ecuadorian boat intercepted and sunk by U.S. forces in the eastern Pacific since August 28, while crews have denied links to drug-trafficking groups.
  • Rights advocates and relatives have raised concerns over other alleged attacks near the Galápagos, including the disappearance of eight fishermen, which the United States and Ecuador have not acknowledged.

U.S. forces have destroyed a fifth Ecuadorian boat in the eastern Pacific, saying it served as a floating refueling station for drug-trafficking operations linked to Los Choneros, Ecuador’s oldest criminal gang.

The Western Hemisphere Joint Task Force said the boat was destroyed on Monday. The operation followed four other interceptions and sinkings since August 28, when U.S. Southern Command announced actions carried out in coordination with the government of President Daniel Noboa.

The crews have denied links to drug-trafficking organizations. On Saturday, a judge released 28 fishermen who had arrived in Ecuador after being detained in two U.S. operations on Wednesday and Thursday. Their lawyer, Fernando Bastias of the Permanent Committee for the Defense of Human Rights, said prosecutors had failed to prove that there were grounds to suspect any crime.

The U.S. Southern Command and Ecuador’s Defense Ministry also reported on Saturday that they had sunk the María Candelaria. Its 26 crew members were being transferred to the Ecuadorian city of Manta. The U.S. command said Monday that the people found aboard the latest vessel would be handed over to Ecuadorian authorities, adding that it “continues to carry out precise and professional operations to dismantle the logistical networks that feed drug trafficking in the Western Hemisphere.”

The five operations have also drawn attention to allegations involving three other boats near the Galápagos in January and March. Fishermen and relatives say those vessels were attacked, and eight fishermen disappeared in one incident. Neither the United States nor Ecuador has acknowledged the alleged attacks. The Washington Post reported that the incidents formed part of a covert CIA operation separate from the U.S. anti-drug campaign in the Caribbean and Pacific. Human rights groups have sharply criticized that broader campaign, which the report says has destroyed dozens of suspected drug boats and killed more than 200 people. Amnesty International has called for an investigation into the alleged U.S. role in the disappearance of the eight Ecuadorian fishermen.

Continues to carry out precise and professional operations to dismantle the logistical networks that feed drug trafficking in the Western Hemisphere.

· U.S. Southern CommandThe command described the purpose of the operation after the latest boat was destroyed.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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