The United States Army announced this Wednesday the interception of a vessel used as a fuel supply point, linked to the criminal gang Los Choneros, the largest in Ecuador, in waters of the Pacific Ocean.
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“Under the direction of the Commander of the Southern Command (Southcom), General Francis L. Donovan, and in coordination and collaboration with the Government of Ecuador, the Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere (JTF-WHEM) successfully intercepted a vessel operating as a floating fuel resupply station in support of illicit drug trafficking operations in international waters of the Eastern Pacific,” a statement on social media began detailing.
In the same publication, the command detailed that the ship, which was intercepted, boarded, searched, and cleared “without incident,” operated “in support of the violent narcoterrorist organization Los Choneros”.
Regarding the people on board, the U.S. military body specified that they were “removed from the vessel” to be transferred “safely” to “Ecuadorian authorities,” before the boat was sunk.
“We are taking decisive measures to dismantle and destroy the sophisticated logistical networks used by narcoterrorists to traffic drugs and spread violence throughout the Western Hemisphere”, warned the same Donovan in the text.
He then highlighted that the operation “demonstrated the elite capabilities and precision of the Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere, which is on alert in the region to apply total systemic pressure on these networks.”
This operation was later confirmed by the Ministry of Defense of Ecuador, which highlighted that “another ship used by drug trafficking as a fuel supply point” was “destroyed” thanks to the action of its “ally” the U.S. Army Southern Command.
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