U.S. sinks fourth suspected drug-trafficking vessel off Ecuador

The United States has sunk a fourth vessel suspected of links to drug trafficking off Ecuador, in a joint operation with Ecuadorian forces that has intensified scrutiny of Washington’s maritime campaign.

The U.S. military said on social media that American forces first secured the main vessel and removed its crew before sinking it along with attached support boats. U.S. Central Command said the destroyed vessel “operated in support of the violent narcoterrorist organization Los Choneros.”

Ecuador’s navy said it had taken charge of 26 crew members from the vessel María Candelaria. They were being taken to the port of Manta, in southwestern Ecuador. Crew members from two other vessels sunk by the United States in recent days arrived at the same port on Friday and were taken to a police station. A judge released them on Saturday without charges.

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Once the main vessel was secured and the crew disembarked, U.S. forces sank it along with the attached support boats.

The operations have drawn criticism from Ecuador’s fishing sector. “They are criminalizing fishing activity, to the point that, for the U.S. Navy, every fisherman who goes out on a fishing trip is a potential criminal,” César Delgado, a representative of the Manta fishing sector, told AFP. All four vessels flew the Ecuadorian flag, and their crews denied any involvement in drug trafficking.

Human Rights Watch said in July that U.S. forces had attacked three vessels off Ecuador, leaving at least eight people missing. Washington denies that account. The operations take place as President Daniel Noboa, with U.S. support, pursues a campaign against drug trafficking and joins the Americas Shield, an anti-drug coalition of about 20 Latin American and Caribbean countries led by U.S. President Donald Trump.

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They are criminalizing fishing activity, to the point that, for the U.S. Navy, every fisherman who goes out on a fishing trip is a potential criminal.