00:00Three Ecuadorian vessels have been attacked in an alleged covert U.S. operation near the Galapagos.
00:05Eight fishermen remain missing, and survivors report having been bombed and detained.
00:10Now crew members from one of the vessels are preparing a lawsuit against the U.S. government.
00:14The details from our correspondent Elena Rodriguez.
00:21The events occurred between January and March 2026.
00:25The vessel Fiorella disappeared on January 20th.
00:27Two of its ten crew members returned home and eight remained missing.
00:31On March 17th, the negra Francisco Duarte II was attacked, and nine days later, the Don Maca.
00:36An investigation by the Washington Post links the three episodes to an alleged covert CIA operation against vessels suspected of
00:43drug trafficking.
00:46What they did to us was handcuff us and put a hood over our heads, and they took us to
00:51the bow of the patrol boat.
00:53There were American citizens there because they translated for us.
00:56We spoke in Spanish, and they translated it into English for them.
01:01The Washington Post investigation coincides with the accounts of the crew members from the intercepted vessels.
01:06They claim they were attacked with drones and subsequently detained by armed men, some of whom spoke English.
01:13They report that they were handcuffed, hooded, and transferred to El Salvador before being returned to Ecuador without any charges
01:19being filed against them.
01:20Now, the crew members of the negra Francisco Duarte II are preparing a lawsuit.
01:25The negra Francisco Duarte II has possibly been attacked in a covert CIA operation with authorization from U.S. President
01:34Donald Trump.
01:38At this point, we are moving forward to initiate actions for comprehensive reparations
01:45in accordance with the international agreements that Ecuador has with the United States
01:52for having attacked unarmed civilian fishermen.
01:59The complaint also raises questions for the Ecuadorian government.
02:03Fernando Cedeño, a legislator from Manabi, the province where the attacked fishermen are originally from,
02:08maintains that,
02:09If U.S. involvement is confirmed, the state must explain what it knew about these operations,
02:14whether there was any level of coordination or authorization,
02:17and under what legal framework they would have been carried out.
02:24Those who survived, those who were in that attack, claim they were attacked by the United States Navy.
02:28What we have realized is that there is a cover-up by the executive branch and the national government to
02:32withhold information.
02:33We made several requests to these ministries, and they claim it is classified,
02:36and with that, they end up shielding any type of investigation.
02:43The case reaches the Assembly at a time when the government of Dano Noboa
02:48has deepened its security cooperation with the United States.
02:51Opposition legislators are questioning the limits of that relationship
02:54and are demanding clarification on whether the fight against drug trafficking
02:57is allowing actions that compromise national sovereignty.
03:03We are witnessing a serious violation of our country's sovereignty,
03:07and we must find out the whereabouts of the fishermen from Manabi,
03:10whose families, to this day, are still grieving, because they do not know what happened.
03:15There are still responsibilities that must be determined,
03:18but the questions have already been raised.
03:21Eight Ecuadorians remain missing, and others report having been bombed and detained.
03:26While those affected prepare a lawsuit against the United States,
03:30Ecuador must clarify what happened, what its authorities knew,
03:33and how far foreign intervention can go under the argument of combating drug trafficking.
03:37With images from Juan Carlos Jativa, Elena RodrÃguez, Telesur Ecuador.
Comments