SOUTHCOM Interdicts and Sinks Eastern Pacific Vessel the Command Tied to Los Choneros

EASTERN PACIFIC — U.S. Southern Command said Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere forces on September 7 interdicted a vessel the command described as a floating refueling station supporting at-sea drug trafficking in the Eastern Pacific.

The command said its intelligence tied the vessel to Los Choneros, which the U.S. Department of State designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist in September 2025.

People taken off the vessel will be transferred to Ecuadorian authorities, the command said. After the crew left and the vessel was cleared, U.S. forces sank it.

The notice did not name the vessel, give a crew count, publish coordinates, or state whether the boarding occurred in international waters.

Ecuador’s Ministry of National Defense had not published a matching confirmation of this specific interdiction as of 2:21 p.m. Coordinated Universal Time on September 8.

In separate events on August 28 and on September 2, 3, and 5, the same U.S. command reported other board-and-sink operations against vessels it also tied to Los Choneros. Ecuador confirmed several of those earlier cases by name, including the vessel María Candelaria on September 5.

The U.S. Embassy in Ecuador republished the Southern Command account in Spanish on September 7, repeating the Los Choneros attribution and the plan to hand the people aboard to Ecuadorian authorities.

What Happened

• Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere, under U.S. Southern Command, interdicted a vessel the command called a floating refueling station in the Eastern Pacific on September 7.

• U.S. Southern Command said intelligence confirmed the vessel’s involvement with Los Choneros.

• The command said people removed from the vessel will be transferred to Ecuadorian authorities.

• After the crew left and the vessel was cleared, U.S. forces sank it, according to the same release.

• The U.S. Embassy in Ecuador restated that account in Spanish on September 7. Ecuador’s Ministry of National Defense did not publish a matching notice that day.

Locations Affected

• Eastern Pacific, coordinates not released, boarding and sinking theater named by U.S. Southern Command on September 7. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service listed the filming site as undisclosed.

• Manta, Ecuador, -0.9494, -80.7314, Pacific port in Manabí named in the August 20 Treasury network action and used by Ecuador’s Navy for earlier crew returns in this series. U.S. Southern Command has not named Manta as the intake point for the September 7 crew.

• Quito, Ecuador, -0.2299, -78.5250, capital where the U.S. Embassy restated the command notice in Spanish on September 7. Not the boarding site.

Official Statements

• U.S. Southern Command, September 7: “On Sept. 7, under the direction of U.S. Southern Command, Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere (JTF-WHEM) forces successfully interdicted a floating refueling station supporting illicit at-sea drug trafficking operations in the Eastern Pacific. Intelligence confirmed the vessel’s involvement with the Los Choneros violent narco-terrorist organization. Individuals removed from the vessel will be transferred to Ecuadorian authorities. After clearing the vessel and disembarking the crew, U.S. forces sank it. JTF-WHEM continues to conduct precise and professional operations to dismantle the logistical networks fueling narco-trafficking in the Western Hemisphere.”