US strikes on Ecuadorian fishing boats raise humanitarian concerns as Trump administration refuses to back down

US forces have blown up a string of Ecuadorian fishing boats in the eastern Pacific in what Washington calls joint counter-narcotics operations — but the fishermen, their lawyers and human rights groups say innocent crews are having their livelihoods destroyed, the Guardian reported on Saturday.

The case of the Don Rufo illustrates the dispute. On 8 September, US forces intercepted the boat in international waters about 327 nautical miles from the coastal city of Manta, boarded it, removed the people aboard and sank it, according to UPI. US Southern Command said intelligence had identified the vessel as a “floating refueling station” supporting drug-trafficking operations linked to Los Choneros, an Ecuadorian criminal organisation designated by Washington as a terrorist group.

Only six of the 16 crew were initially handed over to Ecuadorian authorities. The other 10 apparently left the scene in five smaller boats, and Ecuador’s navy found them on Thursday after a two-day search, taking them aboard the vessel BAE Atahualpa.

The boat’s captain, Mero Calderon, told the Guardian the crew were armed, refused to listen to claims they were fishing legally, and that the Americans “brought two huge bombs aboard, took us to their ship, handcuffed and blindfolded us, and blew our boat to pieces” — an account the fishermen stand by in denying any drug links.

The Don Rufo was the sixth Ecuadorian vessel intercepted and sunk by US forces since 28 August, according to the Ecuadorian outlet Primicias, following the Los Tres Hermanos, Conquista II, OM2, Maria Candelaria and Montecristi. Sixty fishermen from three of the boats faced hearings over alleged criminal association, but an Ecuadorian judge declared the detention of 28 of them illegal and ordered their immediate release, while another 32 were released while still facing proceedings. Ecuador’s interior minister, John Reimberg, defended the operations, saying of the boats: “There wasn’t even a little fish.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, visiting Quito on 9 September, acknowledged a shift in US strategy toward joint operations with allies that comply with their laws — but insisted the military would “still blow up ships if need be”. He said the decision was “a strike-by-strike or operation-by-operation determination” and hailed Ecuador as the most “aggressive” partner in the hemisphere, saying elite forces from both countries were “working jointly on a day-to-day basis in a way that has no precedent”. President Daniel Noboa presented Rubio with Ecuador’s National Order of Merit in the degree of Grand Cross for improving bilateral ties.

The Associated Press reported that at least 230 people have been killed in 69 US boat strikes, including a Caribbean strike the same week that killed three people. Rubio said the purpose of the maritime operations was “not to kill fishermen, but to disrupt drug trafficking by criminal organizations”.

Sources

• The Guardian, “US strikes on Ecuadorian fishing boats raise humanitarian concerns but Trump admin not wavering” — https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/26/us-airstrikes-ecuador-fishers
• Associated Press (via SRN News), “Rubio says US is working with allies to counter drugs but will ‘still blow up ships if need be’” — https://srnnews.com/rubio-visits-ecuador-as-trump-friendly-leader-helps-the-us-counterdrug-push-in-the-region/
• UPI (via Gephardt Daily), “Ecuador finds 10 crew members from fishing boat sunk by U.S.” — https://gephardtdaily.com/top-stories/ecuador-finds-10-crew-members-from-fishing-boat-sunk-by-u-s/