QUITO, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Ecuador defended on Friday U.S. operations that intercepted and sank three Ecuadorean vessels this week, saying they were the product of joint investigations to disrupt drug trafficking.
The sinkings are the latest in a broader U.S. military campaign known as Operation Southern Spear that has destroyed some 70 vessels and killed more than 220 people over the past year, drawing criticism from human rights groups and some Latin American leaders who call the strikes extrajudicial killings.
"This is work carried out through international cooperation," Ecuador's Interior Minister, John Reimberg, told local broadcaster Teleamazonas. "This is not something where action is taken lightly or the first time something suspicious is seen."
"These are investigations conducted with the United States precisely to determine what these vessels are doing, the logistics they are providing, so that drug shipments can ultimately be disrupted," he said, adding refueling stations allow small speedboats to transport drugs to Mexican ports and then on to the United States.
The boats intercepted and sunk this weekwere being used as refueling stations for drug trafficking by the Los Choneros gang, the U.S. Southern Command said on X, where it also posted videos of the vessels being blown up after occupants were removed.
The Ecuadorean Navy said late on Thursday that the crews of two vessels, a total of 28 people, would be transferred to the port city of Manta and were expected to arrive on Friday. Other crew members, meanwhile, "remain at sea aboard their respective vessels."
Though the U.S. government has claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks as part of Southern Spear, it has not claimed three others this year which bear the hallmarks ofU.S. strikes,involvingfishing vessels from Ecuador's Manabiprovince.
(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia; Editing by Sanjev Miglani)
