MANTA, Ecuador – Jose Hernán Flores is still trying to recover from what he describes as a hostile encounter with U.S. forces at sea.
Flores is a fisherman from the town of San Mateo on Ecuador’s Pacific coast.
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In March, he and a crew of 16 piloted the ship La Negra Francisca Duarte II out to sea to chase schools of fish.
Suddenly, a group of military drones appeared in the sky. They plummeted toward La Negra Francisca Duarte II.
“I saw a drone explode on board the ship, but I couldn’t understand what was happening. Two sailors were injured,” Flores told Al Jazeera.
When the La Negra Francisca Duarte II caught fire, Flores and his crew abandoned the ship and fled in a small boat known as a skiff that they were using to help with fishing.
“We jumped on a small boat for help,” Flores explained.
But when Flores approached what appeared to be a nearby tuna boat, he realized that its crew were not fishermen at all. they were soldiers.
“They had beards and were wearing US military uniforms. They handcuffed us and blindfolded us. They had drones and all kinds of military equipment,” Flores said.
The soldiers helped treat the injured crew members of the Flores and handed them over to El Salvador’s naval forces. The fishermen remained at sea for at least another week before coming ashore. They were then deported to Ecuador.
Flores said his boat, valued at about $400,000, was completely destroyed. He is still paying off the loan he took out to buy it.
His story is one of dozens of Ecuadorian fishermen who say they too have been attacked by the United States at sea.
military-led approach
Although the U.S. military denies responsibility for the sinking of the Flores ship, the North American nation has adopted an increasingly aggressive approach against what it sees as maritime drug trafficking.
Since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term, the Pentagon has conducted dozens of attacks on small vessels in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean Sea, many of them fatally.
The Trump administration says these attacks are necessary to combat “narcoterrorism.” But fishermen say they are being shelled for no apparent reason.
Located between Colombia and Peru, the world’s two largest coca producing regions, Ecuador is one of the most important transit points for cocaine flowing out of South America.
It has therefore emerged as a key ally in President Trump’s campaign against drug lords.
This week, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio toured Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru with the goal of generating support for the U.S. fight against criminal organizations in the region.
Rubio said in Quito that the Trump administration would seek $45 million in additional security funding for Ecuador and provide more military equipment to President Daniel Novoa’s right-wing government.
He also acknowledged that “elite forces” in the United States are working with Ecuador to dismantle what he called “terrorist organizations.”
“I think it’s important to point out a little bit that the groups we’re dealing with are terrorist organizations. These are not just criminal organizations,” Rubio said.
missing fishermen
However, many in Ecuador are concerned about the impact their country’s cooperation with the U.S. military is having on local communities.
Earlier this month, dozens of people gathered on the beach in the fishing village of Santa Marianita to demand justice for attacked fishermen.
Lourdes Melo’s husband and son have been missing for months. The fishing boat they were on, the Fiorella, disappeared near the Galapagos Islands in January.
Eight of the boat’s 10 crew members have since gone missing. The two survivors were piloting a small boat to place bait when they lost contact with the Fiorella. They reportedly saw smoke rising on the horizon.
The missing man’s family still does not know whether their loved ones are dead or alive.
“My husband has heart disease and I don’t know what to do. I want my family back,” Melo said in an interview with Al Jazeera.
“We need our eight crew members back. We don’t know where they are. We’re asking the government, but no one can tell us anything.”
According to the Washington Post, the operation was part of a secret U.S. program led by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to target vessels suspected of drug trafficking.
However, the United States has never publicly acknowledged carrying out the attack on Fiorella.
request for evidence
Fishermen along the Pacific coast say they are caught between two threats: U.S. maritime operations and criminal organizations using ports for drug trafficking.
Cesar Delgado is from the Manta Crew Association, a professional association based in Manta, one of Ecuador’s largest tuna fishing centers.
He explained that many fishermen are now afraid to go out to sea for fear of being mistaken for drug traffickers and targeted by the US military.
“Eighty percent of the fleet is in port, not at sea. Fishermen are losing their jobs. People are losing their boats,” Delgado said.
He called on the U.S. government to provide evidence of its claims that it targets drug-trafficking vessels rather than fishermen.
“If they have evidence that drugs are present, they should show it. Instead of sinking the ship, that’s what they’re doing,” Delgado added.
The United States admitted to intercepting some ships. As recently as Tuesday, the U.S. Southern Command, which oversees military operations in Latin America, announced that it had intercepted a “sea refueling base” it said was linked to the Ecuadorian gang Los Choneros.
The US military announced that after eliminating all those on board, the ship was set to sink.
In such cases, the United States has said it will transfer suspects to Ecuadorian authorities. However, these restraints may have fallen below legal standards.
On Saturday, an Ecuadorian judge ruled that there was not enough evidence to detain the 28 fishermen and ordered their release. Other cases are currently under investigation.
But critics say the damage goes beyond Ecuador’s fishing communities. As the United States expands its security influence, concerns about the future of Latin America’s sovereignty under the Trump administration and America’s adherence to the rule of law are growing as well.
