Ecuador defends joint anti-narcotics operations with US after sinking of 3 vessels
Ecuador's Interior Minister stated that maritime interceptions with the US are based on rigorous investigations. US Southern Command sank three vessels linked to Los Choneros this week.
Ecuador backs naval operations with US after intercepting three vessels from Manabí
According to eleconomista.com.mx, the Ecuadorian Government defended on Friday the maritime interdiction operations coordinated with the United States, following the announcement by US Southern Command of the interception of three Ecuadorian vessels over the course of a single week.
Interior Minister John Reimberg explained to local channel Teleamazonas that the operations are not improvised. "It is not a matter where one acts lightly or at the first sign of something suspicious," he stated. According to Reimberg, each intervention is the product of joint investigations with Washington aimed at identifying the logistics of drug-trafficking groups before neutralising them.
The minister specified that the intercepted vessels function as refuelling points for speedboats transporting cocaine to Mexican ports and, from there, to the United States. "These are investigations carried out with the United States precisely to know what these vessels are doing," he added.
The three vessels sunk this week allegedly operated in support of the criminal gang Los Choneros, according to what was published by Southern Command on the social media platform X, where it also released videos of the destruction of the ships after evacuating their crews.
Ecuador's Navy reported on Thursday evening that 28 people belonging to the crews of two of the vessels would be transferred to the port city of Manta, with arrival expected on Friday. Other crew members continued sailing aboard their own speedboats.
The interceptions are part of Operation Southern Spear, a US campaign aimed at reducing cocaine trafficking on the high seas. Over the past year, the US military has destroyed approximately 70 vessels in the Caribbean and the Pacific, with a toll of more than 220 people killed. Washington has assumed responsibility for those actions.
However, three other incidents that occurred during this year—with characteristics similar to US operations and involving fishing vessels from the Ecuadorian province of Manabí—have not been officially attributed by the US Government.
Source: Google News EC — Crime