Unclaimed Attacks on Three Ecuadorian Boats May Be Linked to Secret U.S. Operations: Report

Three unexplained attacks on Ecuadorian fishing boats may have been connected to a covert U.S. operation, according to reporting by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) that has raised questions about whether the Trump administration's Operation Southern Spear extends beyond its publicly acknowledged strikes.

The incidents began with the Fiorella, which disappeared in January with eight of its 10 crew members. CFR fellow Will Freeman, who interviewed more than two dozen people in Ecuador, reviewed messages sent by the captain describing aircraft and drones near the vessel before it vanished. Survivor Cristhian Flores recalled a white plane circling the boat "like it was hunting."

Freeman also reviewed three years of the Fiorella's GPS history, finding that it routinely followed fishing routes and did not travel to areas he identified as common trafficking corridors. None of its crew had known drug-related criminal records.

Questions also surround Ecuador's response. The boat's owners gave authorities its last coordinates on January 22, but the navy waited nine days to dispatch a vessel, which never came within 90 nautical miles of the location. Ecuador's Defense Ministry told Freeman it had requested Colombian assistance, while Colombia's navy told him it had received no such request.

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Two other Ecuadorian boats, the Negra Francisca Duarte II and Don Maca, were attacked by drones in March. Survivors said English-speaking armed men rescued them, hooded and questioned them before transferring them to Salvadoran authorities. Freeman reviewed emergency passports issued to several survivors and photographs documenting their presence in El Salvador. The Negra Francisca had also reportedly been inspected and cleared by Ecuador's Coast Guard hours before it was attacked.

The New York Times subsequently identified a white maritime patrol plane based at a military facility in El Salvador that flew toward all three boats before the incidents. Flight data showed the aircraft repeatedly adjusting its course toward the vessels, including four flights toward the Fiorella between January 16 and January 20. Its pilots spoke English with American accents, according to air traffic recordings.

The Pentagon and U.S. Coast Guard have denied involvement. CFR also reported that U.S. Southern Command and a security firm associated with Erik Prince denied involvement. However, The Washington Post cited an unnamed U.S. government source describing the attacks as a "covert action" involving the CIA.

The incidents come amid Operation Southern Spear, under which U.S. officials had publicly announced 63 attacks on 67 vessels and 221 reported deaths through mid-July, according to a July report from the Washington Office on Latin America.

WOLA noted that Southern Command told the Defense Department inspector general it could not provide a publicly releasable accounting of all operations, leaving unclear whether publicly announced strikes represent the full scope of the campaign.

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