US Operation Southern Spear Kills 220 in Pacific Campaign

The United States military has killed more than 220 people and destroyed 67 vessels since September 2025 as part of Operation Southern Spear. The campaign targets alleged narco-terrorists in the eastern Pacific to disrupt cocaine corridors. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth defended the operations, stating they are necessary to secure the homeland from drugs.

Recent reports and survivor accounts highlight the strike of two Ecuadorean fishing boats, La Negra Francisca Duarte II and Don Maca, in March 2026. The attacks occurred within Ecuador's exclusive economic zone near the Galápagos. Survivors describe being followed by a surveillance aircraft and a blue ship before explosive-laden drones sank their vessels. They claim they were subsequently detained and interrogated by English-speaking armed men in US uniforms before being transferred to the Salvadoran navy for repatriation.

While the US Department of Defense has denied involvement in the specific attacks on these two boats, the Washington Post reported the strikes were part of a covert Central Intelligence Agency program. The CIA has declined to offer guidance on the matter. Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld coordinated the survivors' return but has not condemned the strikes. Attorney Jorge Chiriboga Dávalos, representing the crews, plans to file a lawsuit in the US, arguing that civilian vessels cannot be attacked.

These military actions coincide with a crisis for Ecuadorean fishermen in Manabi province, who face extortion and forced recruitment by the Los Choneros and Los Lobos criminal organizations. These gangs demand fees of $1,200 per trip from those who refuse to smuggle cocaine for Mexican cartels.