U.S. Military Sinks Vessel Used As Floating Refueling Station for Ecuadorian Gang Los Choneros

The U.S. military intercepted and sank a vessel allegedly used as a "floating refueling station" to support at-sea drug trafficking by the Ecuadorian criminal organization Los Choneros, officials said Wednesday. The operation, conducted in international waters of the eastern Pacific, came after a similar strike on Friday destroyed another vessel linked to the gang, one of Ecuador's main drug trafficking and extortion groups. The U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said in a social media post that its forces interdicted the vessel "operating as a floating refueling station" in support of Los Choneros.

The vessel was cleared without incident and those on board were transferred to Ecuador's authorities, SOUTHCOM said. Grainy video footage accompanying the post showed armed men boarding a boat, which was later blown up. "This interdiction cuts off a critical node in the traffickers' logistics chain, SOUTHCOM chief Gen. Francis Donovan said in the post. "We are taking decisive action to dismantle and destroy sophisticated logistics networks used by narco-terrorists to traffic drugs and spread violence throughout the Western Hemisphere.