US military sinks fifth Ecuadorian drug supply ship in 11 days
The U.S. Southern Command confirmed that it had once again intercepted and sunk a ship suspected of supplying drug lords. All personnel on board were evacuated and handed over to Ecuadorian authorities.
Quick Look
- Southern Command confirmed on the 7th that the U.S. military sank the fifth ship suspected of providing maritime drug trade supplies to the Ecuadorian drug lord "Los Choneros" within 11 days.
- The U.S. military evacuated the people on board, sank it, and handed it over to Ecuadorian authorities.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The U.S. Southern Command and the government of Ecuadorian President Noboa coordinate to implement the Western Hemisphere Joint Task Force mission to combat drug smuggling at sea.
Explosive footage of the ship sinking after the US military evacuated the crew. (Extracted from X@Southcom)
The U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) confirmed on the 7th that the U.S. military once again intercepted and sank a ship suspected of providing supplies to Ecuador's large drug lord "Los Choneros" for the maritime drug trade. This is the fifth Ecuadorian ship sunk by the US military in just 11 days since August 28.
According to foreign media, this operation was carried out by the Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere (JTF-WHEM) under the U.S. Southern Command in coordination with the government of Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa. Information shows that the sunken supply ship was specially used to provide fuel supply to speedboats on the high seas and assist in transporting drugs to North America or international markets. The US military sank the ship after evacuating all personnel on board, and handed over the detained personnel to the Ecuadorian authorities for disposal.
Prior to this operation, from August 28 to September 5, the US military intercepted and sank four ships, including the "Los Tres Hermanos" (Los Tres Hermanos), the "Conquest II" (Conquest II), the "OM2" (OM2), and the "María Candelaria" (María Candelaria), and detained a total of 79 crew members.
However, most of the arrested crew members and their families still insist that they are just ordinary fishermen who go out to sea to fish. In addition to the five interceptions that have been officially confirmed recently, local fishermen and their families also alleged that three fishing boats (carrying a total of 46 people) in the waters around the Galápagos Islands from January to March this year were also suspected of being raided. Among them, the whereabouts of eight fishermen on board the "Fiorella" are still unknown.
Open Questions
- Are the arrested crew members indeed involved in the case?
- What happened to the fishermen who disappeared earlier this year?
