March 17 and March 26 attacks sank La Negra Francisca Duarte II and Don Maca, with Ecuadorian fishermen saying small explosive-laden drones struck without warning and injured multiple crew members.
Two crews described nearly identical sequences: a mysterious blue ship and trailing drones appeared days earlier, then a gray surveillance aircraft circled as blasts hit gas tanks and decks about 170 miles off the Galápagos.
After abandoning ship, the 36 survivors said armed English-speaking men in camouflage—some allegedly wearing US-flag patches—boarded them, tied and hooded them, interrogated them, and later transferred them to a Salvadoran Coast Guard vessel.
Public records and satellite data partly support the timeline: NOAA detected a fire at one reported strike location, and flight data showed patrols by a plane tied to a Virginia mailbox address previously reported by the New York Times.
The fishermen deny any trafficking role, the Pentagon has denied involvement in these two cases, and a lawyer for one crew plans a US lawsuit as Ecuadorian authorities remain largely silent.
Who is really commanding the mysterious blue vessel and launching explosive drone strikes against fishermen in the Pacific?
What dark secret connects the explosive drone attacks in March to the chilling disappearance of the Fiorella crew in January?
U.S. Drone Strikes Kill 221 in Latin America: Inside Operation Southern Spear’s Legal and Human Rights Fallout
Overview
Operation Southern Spear, launched by the Trump administration as an aggressive anti-narcotics campaign in Latin America, has led to at least 221 deaths and sparked severe diplomatic fallout. Covert U.S. operations, including drone strikes on Ecuadorian fishing boats, resulted in the disappearance and presumed deaths of crew members, leaving families in poverty and local economies devastated. Survivors faced abduction and torture, fueling demands for international investigations. Legal challenges and human rights hearings have been met with U.S. resistance and threats to withhold funding, while flawed intelligence and secret legal justifications have allowed the campaign to continue with little oversight or accountability.