U.S. forces struck another blow against Ecuadorian drug traffickers on September 15, interdicting and sinking a vessel operating as a floating refueling station in the Eastern Pacific. The operation, carried out by Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere under the direction of U.S. Southern Command, targeted a ship intelligence confirmed was tied to Los Choneros, a violent narco-terrorist organization based in Ecuador's Manabí Province. U.S. forces boarded the vessel, cleared it, removed the crew, and transferred those individuals to Ecuadorian authorities before sinking the ship. It marks yet another entry in a growing string of similar strikes carried out against the group's maritime supply network in recent weeks.

SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan framed the operation as part of a broader campaign of sustained pressure on narco-terrorist networks, describing the effort as dismantling their logistics and hurting their finances in what he called total systemic friction. This latest sinking follows a rapid pace of similar operations throughout September, with the task force having already interdicted and destroyed multiple refueling stations tied to Los Choneros earlier in the month. Officials say the strategy is designed to choke off the fuel and supply lines that keep trafficking vessels moving across the Eastern Pacific. With JTF-WHEM continuing near-weekly strikes, U.S. Southern Command says the campaign against the group's logistics network shows no signs of slowing down.