On 8 September, a US patrol vessel intercepted the Ecuadorian fishing boat Don Rufo in international waters near Ecuador. The boat's captain, Mero Calderón, claimed that US forces boarded the vessel with armed personnel, confiscated the catch, and detonated two bombs aboard, sinking the boat. Calderón and five other fishers were handed over to local authorities, while another 10 crew members were rescued by the Ecuadorian navy on 10 September. The US Southern Command released a 14-second video of the operation, stating that intelligence confirmed the vessel was being used by a gang as a "floating refuelling station" for drug trafficking. However, the fishers deny this. This incident is one of eight similar operations involving Ecuadorian boats in just over two weeks, with both the US and Ecuador describing them as "joint operations" under the leadership of Ecuador's far-right president, Daniel Noboa. Noboa has pursued a controversial "iron-fist" strategy against gangs, including declaring states of emergency and expanding the role of the armed forces. This approach has not reduced violence but has raised human rights concerns. One notable case was the 2022 disappearance and death of the "Guayaquil Four," four Afro-Ecuadorian boys who were forcibly taken. Noboa signed an agreement with the White House authorizing joint operations and granting US military personnel involved in counter-narcotics efforts immunity from criminal prosecution. US President Donald Trump has compared drug trafficking to the campaign against the Islamic State, stating that traffickers "should be killed, exiled or detained as enemy combatants without the possibility of release." Trump has pressured Latin American leaders to join his anti-drug cartel coalition, Shield of the Americas, which now includes most countries except for some left-leaning nations like Mexico and Brazil. Analysts suggest that the US military's strategy against drug trafficking in Latin America has entered a new phase, with Ecuador serving as a "laboratory" for these operations. However, human rights organizations have described the airstrikes as extrajudicial killings, and a UN special rapporteur has concluded that there are "reasonable grounds to believe" they constitute "crimes against humanity." Available data indicate that the operations have not reduced the amount of cocaine entering the country. In Ecuador, the local NGO Permanent Committee for the Defence of Human Rights estimates that more than 220 fishers have been subjected to "violent boardings, arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, torture and the destruction of vessels" in this year's US operations. None of the fishers remain in custody, and many have been acquitted due to lack of evidence. The NGO's lawyer, Fernando Bastías, questioned the rationale for destroying evidence if the boats were being used for drug trafficking. A US Southern Command spokesperson stated that operations are conducted "in compliance with US and international law" and that leaving boats intact could allow their reuse by criminal networks. However, three cases from earlier this year remain unclaimed: the disappearance of the fishing vessel Fiorella with eight crew members on 20 January, and two other incidents in late March. The Washington Post reported that these cases were part of a covert CIA programme, though the agency declined to comment. A US Southern Command spokesperson denied any involvement in the incidents described. Families of the missing crew members, including María Mero, have sought answers from the Ecuadorian government without success. They emphasize that the fishers were not criminals and are demanding the return of their loved ones.