The U.S. military intercepted and sank a vessel suspected of being used as a floating refueling station by the Ecuadorian criminal group Los Choneros, according to U.S. officials. The operation took place in international waters of the eastern Pacific and was conducted in coordination with the Ecuadorian government, as stated by the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM). The vessel was searched without incident, and all individuals aboard were transferred to Ecuadorian authorities. Video footage showed armed personnel boarding the boat, which was later destroyed. This action follows a similar operation on Friday, in which another vessel linked to Los Choneros was also destroyed. General Francis Donovan, head of SOUTHCOM, said the interdiction disrupts a key part of the traffickers' supply network. He emphasized the importance of dismantling complex logistics systems used by narco-terrorists to move drugs and spread violence across the Western Hemisphere. In Manta, an Ecuadorian port city, families of fishermen have been searching for information about their loved ones after losing contact with them. Olivia Holguin, sister of a ship's captain, told AFP that the boat had left on Friday for a fishing trip, and the crew had reported seeing helicopters and military vessels approaching. AFP has not confirmed whether that vessel was the same one destroyed by U.S. forces. The U.S. military launched "Operation Southern Spear" a year ago, with former President Donald Trump asserting that the U.S. is effectively at war with drug cartels in Latin America. Since then, more than 200 people have been killed in strikes in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific, according to AFP. However, the Trump administration has not provided conclusive evidence that the vessels targeted were involved in drug trafficking. Ecuador’s right-wing President Daniel Noboa is one of Trump’s closest allies in Latin America. In March, Ecuador joined Trump’s "Shield of the Americas," a U.S.-led coalition aimed at combating drug trafficking in the region.