On Thursday, U.S. military forces sank a ship used as a floating refueling station for drug trafficking operations in the eastern Pacific Ocean. This operation, conducted in coordination with the Ecuadorian government, targeted the narco-terrorist organization Los Choneros.
The United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) reported that the mission was overseen by General Francis L. Donovan and carried out by Littoral Combat Force 24, launched from the USS San Antonio (LPD 17). The team boarded, inspected, and evacuated the vessel without incident before proceeding to sink it.
According to official reports, the ship was operating as a refueling station to support illegal drug trafficking activities in international waters of the eastern Pacific.
U.S. intelligence verified that the vessel directly supported Los Choneros, a group labeled by Washington as a “violent narco-terrorist organization.”
The individuals found on board were removed from the ship and are set to be handed over to Ecuadorian authorities, as indicated by SOUTHCOM.
This marks the second operation of its kind in less than a week. On August 28, Joint Task Force-Western Hemisphere (JTF-WHEM) had already sunk another similar narcotics vessel in the same operational area, also linked to Los Choneros and deployed from the USS San Antonio.
"The Department of Defense and A3C remain resolute in their mission to defeat narco-terrorists in the Western Hemisphere and defend our homeland," concluded SOUTHCOM in its statement.
SOUTHCOM described the operation as a significant blow to a "critical node in the traffickers' logistical chain," aligning with the goals of the American Coalition Against Cartels (A3C) and JTF-WHEM.
JTF-WHEM was activated on August 3, 2026, as the operational arm of A3C to dismantle narco-terrorist networks in the Western Hemisphere, under the leadership of Marine Major General Kevin Jarrard.
Los Choneros emerged in the late 1990s in Chone, Manabí Province, and became one of Ecuador's most powerful criminal organizations, with ties to the Sinaloa Cartel and cocaine trafficking operations to Mexico, the U.S., and Europe.
Their leader, José Adolfo Macías Villamar, also known as "Fito," was captured in Ecuador in June 2025 and extradited to the U.S. on July 20 of that year, where he faces seven federal charges in New York for drug trafficking and arms smuggling.
Despite the capture of its leader, the organization has maintained its maritime logistical networks, as evidenced by successive interdictions in August and September 2026.
The State Department officially designated Los Choneros as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) on September 4, 2025, exactly one year before this latest operation.
The cumulative results of SOUTHCOM's anti-narcotics campaign over the past year include at least 227 fatalities, 68 vessels destroyed, and nearly a 50% reduction in drug trafficking through the Pacific.
Key Questions About the U.S. Operations Against Los Choneros
What was the purpose of the U.S. operation against the drug vessel?
The operation aimed to dismantle a floating refueling station supporting drug trafficking activities linked to the narco-terrorist group Los Choneros.
Who conducted the operation to sink the vessel?
The mission was led by U.S. Southern Command and executed by Littoral Combat Force 24, launched from the USS San Antonio.
How does the operation fit within broader U.S. anti-drug efforts?
The operation is part of the American Coalition Against Cartels' efforts to dismantle critical logistics nodes in drug trafficking networks in the Western Hemisphere.