U.S. forces intercepted and sank a vessel in the Eastern Pacific this week that officials said was serving as a floating refueling station for a drug-trafficking network, the latest in a monthslong campaign against cartel logistics in the Western Hemisphere.
U.S. Southern Command said the operation was carried out Wednesday under the direction of Gen. Francis L. Donovan, the command’s chief, in coordination with the government of Ecuador. Marines and sailors launched from the amphibious transport dock USS San Antonio intercepted, boarded and searched the vessel without incident before removing everyone aboard and escorting them back to Ecuador. The ship was sunk once cleared.
SOUTHCOM said intelligence indicated the vessel, previously identified and sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department, was supporting Los Choneros, an Ecuador-based group that Washington has designated a foreign terrorist organization. “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,” Donovan said, describing the mission as reflecting the “elite capabilities and precision” of Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere.
The operation is the latest under the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition, a partnership between the United States and regional allies formed in March to target cartel operations, and follows a similar interdiction and sinking of an alleged refueling vessel on August 28 tied to the same group. Roughly 1,300 Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit have been deployed to the Caribbean this year as part of the broader campaign, which has included dozens of strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific since a first strike killed 11 people in September 2025.
Last week, the Treasury Department separately sanctioned several individuals and companies it said were linked to Los Choneros and Los Lobos, another Ecuadorian group designated as a foreign terrorist organization.
