Ecuadorian Fishing Crews Report Drone Strikes and Detention by U.S. Vessels

The 36 crew members from both vessels survived and later described being placed in plastic restraints, hooded, and held on deck for several hours before transfer to Salvadoran patrol boats that took them to El Salvador.

March 17 Incident On March 17, the Negra Francisca Duarte II was returning to port with three tons of catch when crew members reported seeing drones overhead roughly 170 miles off Ecuador's Galapagos Islands. Captain José Hernán Flores said one drone struck the vessel, causing fires and injuries, including a deep wound to his nephew's right foot.

The crew abandoned ship in auxiliary skiffs and were taken aboard the blue vessel, where they said they were ordered to keep their hands up at gunpoint. The fishermen spent hours on deck under restraints before being transferred the next day to a Salvadoran patrol boat for an eight-day voyage to El Salvador.

March 26 Incident Nine days later, the Don Maca reported a similar sequence: drones fired on the vessel, the crew abandoned ship, and a blue boat flying a U.S. flag took the 20 fishermen aboard under armed guard. Survivor Sebastián Palacios Vera said the Salvadoran vessel's captain told them the Americans had described the crew as shipwreck survivors, a characterization he disputed.

A third Ecuadorian vessel, the Fiorella, disappeared on January 20 with eight crew members who remain missing. The father of the Fiorella's captain told United Nations investigators that the captain had reported drones and patrol boats following the vessel.

U.S. authorities have stated they had no involvement with any of the three boats. The Southern Command said it played no role in the sinkings of the Negra Francisca or Don Maca. During debate on a Pentagon funding bill, Keating offered an amendment to require release of unclassified recordings related to the cases.