Ecuadorian fishermen allege US forces attacked their vessels at sea

September 11, 2026 at 10:18 PM2 min

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Ecuadorian fisherman Jose Hernan Flores says US military personnel attacked his vessel, La Negra Francisca Duarte II, in March, injuring two crew members and destroying the boat. Flores and his crew were handcuffed and blindfolded before being handed to an El Salvador navy unit and later deported to Ecuador. The US military has denied responsibility for the sinking.

Key Facts

Jose Hernan Flores, a fisherman from San Mateo, Ecuador, says his vessel La Negra Francisca Duarte II was attacked by US forces in March, injuring two of his 16 crew members.
Flores estimates his destroyed boat was worth around $400,000, and he is still paying off the loan he took to buy it.
The US military has denied responsibility for the sinking of Flores's boat.
Since the start of President Donald Trump's second term, the Pentagon has carried out dozens of strikes on small vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio toured Colombia, Ecuador and Peru this week to generate support for the US fight against criminal groups in the region.

The Encounter

In March, Flores was piloting La Negra Francisca Duarte II with a crew of 16 to chase schools of fish when military-style drones appeared in the sky. The drones swooped towards the vessel and exploded, injuring two sailors and setting the boat on fire. Flores and his crew abandoned ship onto smaller skiffs and approached what they thought was a nearby tuna vessel. The occupants turned out to be soldiers with beards and US military uniforms, who handcuffed and blindfolded the fishermen. The soldiers treated the injured crew members and then handed them over to a navy unit from El Salvador.

US Military Operations

The US military has denied responsibility for the sinking of Flores's boat. Since the start of President Donald Trump's second term, the Pentagon has carried out dozens of strikes on small vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, many of them lethal. The Trump administration argues that such attacks are necessary to combat narco-terrorism. Ecuador, positioned between Colombia and Peru, the two largest coca-growing regions in the world, has become a crucial ally in Trump's campaign against drug-trafficking organisations. This week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio toured Colombia, Ecuador and Peru to generate support for the US fight against criminal groups in the region.