U.S. Military Destroys Narco-Terrorist Refueling Ship in Eastern Pacific

The U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) reported that a "floating refueling station supporting illicit at-sea drug trafficking operations in the Eastern Pacific" was intercepted and destroyed by U.S. forces on September 8, 2026. SOUTHCOM stated that the operation was conducted by Joint Task Force – Western Hemisphere (JTF-WHEM) based on intelligence confirming the vessel's involvement with the Los Choneros violent narco-terrorist organization. Individuals removed from the vessel will be transferred to Ecuadorian authorities. After clearing the vessel and disembarking the crew, U.S. forces sank it. JTF-WHEM was activated by SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan in August 2026 to counter threats, strengthen regional security, and respond rapidly to crises across the Western Hemisphere. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Kevin Jarrard was appointed as the first commander of JTF-WHEM, having previously led disaster relief operations by the U.S. military after the June 2026 earthquake in Venezuela. The new joint task force is a larger, multinational successor to Operation Southern Spear, which began in January 2025 and expanded into a joint task force operation in November 2025. Los Choneros is an Ecuadoran organized crime gang that originated in the 1990s in Chone, Ecuador. After the arrest of its top leaders in a 2011 crackdown, the gang expanded its operations by recruiting smaller gangs and building a transnational criminal network. Los Choneros is known for extreme violence and internal conflicts for control. The gang was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in September 2025. Rubio stated that Los Choneros and another gang, Los Lobos, aim to control drug trafficking routes through Ecuador by inflicting violence on the Ecuadorian population. Both gangs have increased their power by collaborating with other cartels, with Los Choneros serving as the logistical arm of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel. This action marks the fifth interception of a refueling vessel operated by Los Choneros in the Eastern Pacific in the past two months. Gen. Donovan stated, "We are taking decisive action to dismantle and destroy sophisticated logistics networks used by narco-terrorists to traffic drugs and spread violence throughout the Western Hemisphere."