The U.S. Army intercepted and sunk a ship allegedly used to support the maritime drug trafficking of the Ecuadorian criminal organization Los Choneros.
This action came after a similar operation on Friday, in which another vessel linked to the gang, one of Ecuador’s leading drug trafficking and extortion groups, was destroyed.
The Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) on social media that its forces intercepted a vessel operating as a floating fuel supply station in support of Los Choneros in international waters in the eastern Pacific.
The vessel was discharged without incidents and its occupants were handed over to the Ecuadorian authorities, Southcom said.
A video that accompanied the publication showed armed men approaching a ship, which was subsequently attacked.
The Seven. 2, at the direction of #SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. by Francis L. Donovan, and in coordination and collaboration with the Government of Ecuador, Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere (JTF-WHEM) successfully interdicted a vessel operating as a floating refueling station in support? pic.twitter.com/yo55pvWff0
“We are taking decisive steps to dismantle and destroy sophisticated logistics networks used by drug terrorists to traffick drugs and spread violence across the Western Hemisphere,” said Southcom chief, General Francis Donovan.
The operation was carried out “in coordination and collaboration with the Government of Ecuador,” the publication added.
A year of drug attacks
The U.S. military launched the “Operation Southern Shot” a year ago, arguing President Trump that Washington is at war with drug cartels operating from Latin America.
Since then, more than 200 people have been killed in attacks in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean, according to an AFP count.
The Trump administration has not presented conclusive evidence that the vessels attacked are involved in drug trafficking.
Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa is one of Mr Trump’s closest allies in Latin America.
In March, Ecuador joined its “Shield of the Americas”, a U.S.-led coalition to combat drug trafficking in the region.
