PACIFIC OCEAN: US forces intercepted and sank a Los Choneros vessel used as a floating resupply station on suspected drug-trafficking routes, US Southern Command said.
Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere personnel removed the occupants from the vessel before transferring them to Ecuadorian authorities.
US forces then sank the main vessel and attached support craft after clearing them, according to SOUTHCOM.
Southern Command said the structure supported illicit drug-trafficking activity in the region. It added that its forces were targeting logistics networks used to sustain maritime trafficking operations.
The operation came two days after SOUTHCOM announced another interdiction involving a vessel it also linked to Los Choneros in the eastern Pacific.
Read: U.S. Drug Boat Strike Kills 2 in Eastern Pacific
The earlier operation took place on September 3 under orders from SOUTHCOM commander General Francis L. Donovan.
US intelligence assessed that the vessel supported Los Choneros, which Washington designates as a narco-terrorist organisation, according to the supplied material.
US Military Intercepted Refueling Vessel for Drug Trafficking Operations
U.S. Southern Command said a joint task force intercepted a vessel used as a refueling hub for alleged drug trafficking in the eastern Pacific. pic.twitter.com/Cg2mrpPR5o
— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) September 4, 2026During that mission, Littoral Combat Force 24 deployed from the USS San Antonio and boarded, searched and cleared the vessel without incident.
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Personnel removed from the ship were also transferred to Ecuadorian authorities before US forces sank it. SOUTHCOM said the interdictions form part of Operation Southern Spear.
A quarterly report stated that the campaign reduced illicit maritime activity by 65% in the western Caribbean, 60% in the eastern Caribbean and nearly 50% in parts of the eastern Pacific.
