Conflict & Security
Ecuador fishermen say US-Ecuador forces blew up boat
Ecuadoran fishermen said a joint US-Ecuador counter-narcotics operation removed them from their boat at sea on September 2 before the vessel was destroyed.
Eduardo Holguin, 41, told AFP he was aboard the Conquista 2 when a speedboat “full of soldiers” pulled close and personnel aimed weapons at the crew. He said the crew had nothing to do with drug trafficking.
“They took our boat away, brought us to the patrol boat, and blew it up,” Holguin said.
The crew was later handed to the Ecuadoran navy, taken to Manta in southwestern Ecuador and released without criminal charges. Juan Carlos Posligua, another crew member, also said they were not doing anything illegal.
US Southern Command said the boat was used to support drug trafficking by the Ecuadoran crime syndicate Los Choneros.
Joint US-Ecuador counter-narcotics operations in the Pacific have destroyed four Ecuadoran vessels since August 28. The operations follow a Human Rights Watch report alleging at least eight people went missing when three Ecuadoran vessels were attacked by US forces between January and March. Washington denies involvement in the disappearances.
Holguin and Posligua said the operations have left them unsure whether to return to fishing, although Holguin said a lack of jobs may leave them little choice.
Uncertainty notes
The fishermen’s account of how they were treated and how the boat was destroyed is attributed to them and is not independently established in the supplied material.
The US Southern Command claim that the boat supported drug trafficking is disputed by the fishermen and no criminal charges against the crew are reported.
The circumstances of the disappearances alleged by Human Rights Watch remain disputed, with Washington denying involvement.
Source
AFP news report published on .