Ecuador · Security
Key Facts
—The rescue. Ecuador’s navy located ten missing crew members of the fishing vessel Don Rufo on September 10, two days after US forces destroyed the boat in the Eastern Pacific. Sixteen people were aboard; the ten found had moved away from the strike site and are now on the naval unit BAE Atahualpa.
—The count. Don Rufo is the sixth Ecuadorian vessel destroyed by US Southern Command since August 28 and the ninth Ecuadorian boat attacked this year, according to Ecuadorian reporting.
—The US claim. Washington says the vessel served as a floating refueling station for drug-running speedboats and was linked to Los Choneros, which Ecuadorian media describe as the country’s oldest criminal gang.
