WASHINGTON, Aug 29: The United States military intercepted and destroyed an alleged drug trafficking boat in the Eastern Pacific on Friday in a coordinated operation with Ecuador, officials said.
US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said in a post on X that its forces intercepted a vessel "operating as a floating refueling station" in the Eastern Pacific.
The vessel was operating "in support of the Los Choneros violent narco-terrorist organization," it said, referring to one of Ecuador's main drug trafficking and extortion gangs.
Boat service in Fewa Lake comes into operation but no tourists...
SOUTHCOM said those on board were escorted to Ecuador before US forces destroyed the vessel.
Grainy video footage accompanying the post showed a boat on fire following a large explosion.
"Working together with our Ecuadorian partners, our coalition dealt a decisive blow to a narco-terrorist operation responsible for moving significant amounts of drugs through the region," SOUTHCOM said.
The US military launched operation "Southern Spear" in early September, with President Donald Trump arguing that Washington is effectively at war with drug cartels operating out of Latin America.
More than 200 people have been killed in strikes in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean since then, according to a tally by AFP.
Trump's administration has not provided definitive evidence that the vessels it has been striking are involved in drug trafficking.
Ecuador's right-wing President Daniel Noboa is one of Trump's closest allies in Latin America.
In March, Ecuador joined Trump's "Shield of the Americas," a US-led coalition to combat drug trafficking in the region.
