Ecuadorian fishermen allege US maritime campaign is putting crews at risk
Fishermen report injuries, detention and destroyed vessels as Washington expands operations against suspected drug-trafficking boats in the eastern Pacific.
Ecuadorian fishermen say expanded US maritime operations have subjected fishing crews to attacks, detention and vessel destruction, raising questions about evidence, legal safeguards and Ecuador’s sovereignty.
Jose Hernan Flores told Al Jazeera that military-style drones struck his boat, La Negra Francisca Duarte II, in March, injuring two crew members and setting the vessel on fire. He said US personnel later handcuffed and blindfolded the crew before they were handed to an El Salvadoran navy unit. The US military has denied responsibility for sinking the boat.
Families of the Fiorella’s crew are also seeking answers after the vessel disappeared near the Galapagos Islands in January. Eight of its 10 crew members remain missing. The US has not publicly acknowledged an attack on the vessel, while a Washington Post report has linked the incident to an alleged covert CIA programme targeting boats suspected of drug trafficking.
Fishing communities say the operations are compounding pressure from criminal organisations that use Ecuadorian ports. Cesar Delgado of the Manta Crew Members Association told Al Jazeera that 80 per cent of the fleet was in port because fishermen feared being mistaken for traffickers.
The Trump administration has carried out dozens of strikes or interceptions against small vessels in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean, describing the campaign as necessary to combat “narco-terrorism”. US Southern Command recently said it intercepted and sank a floating refuelling station allegedly linked to the Ecuadorian gang Los Choneros.
The scale and circumstances of the fishermen’s allegations have not been independently established in the supplied reporting. But an Ecuadorian judge recently ordered 28 fishermen released, citing insufficient evidence for continued detention, as concern grows over the standards governing US-backed security operations.
