On Sept. 8, a US patrol vessel intercepted the fishing boat Don Rufo in international waters near Ecuador, a day before US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Quito.
“The gringos were all armed as if they were going to war,” said captain Mero Calderón, 50.
“They brought two huge bombs aboard, took us to their ship, handcuffed and blindfolded us, and blew our boat to pieces,” Calderón said.
US Southern Command said “intelligence confirmed” that the vessel was being used by a gang as a “floating refuelling station” for speedboats allegedly carrying drugs, a claim the fishermen deny.
The operation was one of eight involving Ecuadorian boats over slightly more than two weeks.
Unlike broader US airstrikes in the Pacific and Caribbean, the crews in these operations were removed before their vessels were destroyed.
The operations have been openly supported by Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, who has described them as “joint operations”.
Meanwhile, human rights concerns have mounted over the consequences for Ecuador’s fishing communities.
The Permanent Committee for the Defence of Human Rights estimates that more than 220 fishers have been subjected this year to “violent boardings, arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, torture and the destruction of vessels” during US operations.
None of the fishers remains in custody, while several have reportedly been acquitted for lack of evidence.
“Fishers are losing their livelihoods when the US destroys the boats. Besides, if the US says the vessels were being used to refuel drug boats, why destroy the evidence?” said committee lawyer Fernando Bastías.
A US Southern Command spokesperson said its operations are conducted “in compliance with US and international law” and that leaving boats “intact could permit their reuse by criminal networks”.
The humanitarian concerns extend to unresolved disappearances.
The fishing vessel Fiorella disappeared on Jan. 20 with eight crew members aboard.
The families of those missing say they have spent months seeking answers from the Ecuadorian government.
Both the husband and brother of María Mero, 43, were aboard the Fiorella.
“Where did they take them? Do they have them in the US, in a prison somewhere? We don’t want any trouble; we just want them to send them back to us,” she said.
On Sept. 19, four people were also killed in a US operation in the Caribbean, while Washington has not disclosed their identities or the alleged evidence linking them to criminal activity.
Human rights organisations have described the wider US strikes as extrajudicial killings, while a UN special rapporteur said there are “reasonable grounds to believe” they constitute “crimes against humanity”.
Despite criticism and questions over their effectiveness, Rubio said the US would “still blow up ships if need be”.
For Ecuadorian fishing families, however, the operations have brought destroyed boats, lost livelihoods and unresolved questions over the fate of their relatives.