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U.S. Forces Sink Ecuadorian Vessel After Alleged Los Choneros Link

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Courtroom-sketch editorial illustration of an aerial view over open water showing a small vessel beside a bright impact plume and another vessel's wake entering from the right, rendered in warm ochre and slate-blue pastel strokes.

U.S. Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere interdicted what Southern Command described as a multi-vessel floating refueling station supporting illicit maritime drug trafficking in the eastern Pacific on September 5. Southern Command said intelligence linked the vessels to Los Choneros. Ecuador’s Defense Ministry identified the main vessel as the María Candelaria and said 26 crew members were transferred to an Ecuadorian coast-guard unit for transport to Manta. After everyone was removed, U.S. forces sank the main vessel and its attached support craft.

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