Fishermen detained, boats destroyed but no charges under U.S. ops in Equador

Manta, Ecuador – Ecuadoran fisherman Eduardo Holguin was aboard the “Conquista 2” when a joint U.S.-Ecuadoran operation forcibly removed him and his crewmates from the boat before sinking it. The 41-year-old said he and his crewmates had had nothing to do with drug trafficking before they were intercepted at sea last Wednesday. A speedboat “full of soldiers” pulled up “close to the boat” and “they were aiming at us” with their weapons, Holguin said.

The crew was eventually released without facing any criminal charges. Joint U.S.-Ecuador counternarcotics operations in the Pacific have seen the destruction of four Ecuadoran vessels since Aug. 28. The U.S. military’s Southern Command says the boat was used to support drug trafficking by Ecuadoran crime syndicate Los Choneros.

The operations come after the publication of a report by Human Rights Watch alleging at least eight people went missing when three Ecuadoran vessels were attacked by U.S. forces between January and March this year. Washington denies any involvement in the disappearances. Holguin said once he and the crew were detained on the patrol boat, there was an interpreter and “gringos.” Then “they put a hood over my head” and “earmuffs,” Holguin said.

Holguin said he and his crewmates were given food, but “with everything that was happening, we didn’t feel like eating.” The crew members were then handed over to the Ecuadoran navy, which transported them to Manta, the main fishing port in southwestern Ecuador. Fishermen on other intercepted vessels have had similar experiences. For Juan Carlos Posligua, a crew member on the “Conquista 2,” the last few days have been hard.

After arriving on land, the crew was taken to a police station, then released a day later without charges. We’re just ordinary fishermen who went out to work to bring home our daily bread,” Posligua said. The operations have made fishermen in Manta and nearby towns deeply uneasy.

Holguin and Posligua are unsure about going back to fishing. I don’t know what I’m going to do from here on out,” lamented Posligua, who has been fishing for 28 years. But the lack of other options will likely drive them back out onto the ocean.