Cartel Watch (@CartelWatch)

U.S. Forces Sink Los Choneros Resupply Vessel in Eastern Pacific On September 8, Joint Task Force-Western Hemisphere (JTF-WHEM), acting under U.S. Southern Command, intercepted a vessel operating as a floating refueling station for drug trafficking in the Eastern Pacific. Intelligence tied the ship to Los Choneros, the Ecuadorian group Washington has designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization. U.S. forces boarded the vessel, removed the crew, inspected it, and sank it after it was cleared. The detainees were transferred to Ecuadorian authorities. The action is at least the fourth such interdiction since late August and continues JTF-WHEM’s campaign against the logistics networks that keep narcotics moving through the Western Hemisphere.