The United States likely played a role in attacks on three fishing vessels off Ecuador's coast earlier this year, which left at least eight people missing, according to a recent report by Human Rights Watch (HRW). The attacks allegedly occurred between January and March as the US military ramped up its controversial strikes against boats it claims to be transporting drugs near Latin America.
HRW's investigation, which involved interviews with 62 people, including 13 survivors of the attacks, concludes that the United States "had some level of involvement in, or knowledge of, these attacks." The US Department of Defense and Coast Guard have denied responsibility for the attacks.
At least 215 people have been killed in the strikes, which rights groups, including HRW, have condemned as extrajudicial killings because they have apparently targeted civilians who do not pose an immediate threat to the United States.
Survivors of the attacks on the fishing vessels La Negra Francisca Duarte II and the Don Maca said they were attacked by armed drones. They also reported that armed US nationals wearing military-style uniforms bearing US flag insignias detained them aboard a nearby blue-and-white vessel and then transferred them to the Salvadoran Coast Guard.
HRW also condemned the US-Ecuador joint military action against criminal drug trafficking, alleging the use of torture and arbitrary detentions. The report calls on the US Congress to demand clear answers from the Trump administration regarding its security cooperation with Ecuador.
