JTF-WHEM sinks second Los Choneros-linked 'floating refueling station' off Ecuador

At the direction of SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan and in coordination with the Government of Ecuador, JTF-WHEM boarded, searched and sank a vessel operating as a floating refueling station in international waters in the Eastern Pacific on 2 September 2026 — the second such non-lethal interdiction in a week, following a 28 August 2026 operation. SOUTHCOM said the vessel supported at-sea drug trafficking linked to the Ecuadorian criminal group Los Choneros. Marines and sailors boarded and cleared the vessel without incident before sinking it and turning the crew over to Ecuadorian authorities; no casualties were reported. Donovan said the interdiction 'cuts off a critical node in the traffickers' logistics chain.' The operation extends a pause in lethal strikes that has held since JTF-WHEM's 25 August strike, even as families of missing Ecuadorian fishermen continue to seek answers about earlier, unrelated attacks alleged to be part of a separate covert CIA program.