US EditionJoint US operation bombed farms, homes in Ecuador, says complaint
The joint operation destroyed a drug-trafficking hideout but drew criticism for alleged farm damage and abuse of local workers, with human rights experts raising concerns.
- Between March 1 and March 6, Ecuadorian forces and the United States conducted Operation Total Extermination in San Martin, a farming village of about 27 families in Sucumbios province, with residents reporting aerial strikes and troop landings.
- President Daniel Noboa launched the campaign to combat "narcoterrorism and illegal mining" after declaring an "internal armed conflict" in 2024, with the United States providing intelligence for joint operations.
- American-Designed Mark-82 bombs left craters in farmland, while the Pentagon claims the mission targeted a "narco-terrorist supply network," though villagers report troops burned two homes and detained five workers.
- Detained workers reported torture, including electrocution and simulated drowning, before their release near Lago Agrio on March 4; the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights confirmed these accounts.
- This operation fits a broader pattern of lethal cooperation; since September, the United States has launched strikes killing more than 150 people, while eight UN experts warned of human rights abuses on March 9.
16 Articles
16 Articles
A few months ago, the United States (US) announced that it would collaborate with the government of Ecuador in the fight against drug trafficking, on March 6, countries reported that they had destroyed a “trafficker camp” in an Ecuadorian rural area, but an investigation by The New York Times maintained that it was actually a dairy farm. The media claimed to have talked with local workers in the town of San Martín, who indicated that the action …
In early March, Washington and Quito claimed an operation against an infrastructure that would belong to a criminal group, but testimony from the New York Times questioned this version.
U.S.-backed strike hit Ecuador dairy farm, not drug camp | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
As President Donald Trump prepared to welcome conservative Latin American leaders to a summit in Florida in early March, U.S. officials released a video of a massive explosion — capturing the destruction of what they said was a drug trafficker’s training camp in rural Ecuador.
The New York Times published interviews with beaten workers
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