CIA Involved in Covert Strikes on Ecuadorian Boats, Report Says

Truthout is an indispensable resource for activists, movement leaders and workers everywhere. Please make this work possible with a quick donation. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is reportedly running a secret operation bombing boats off of the coast of Ecuador that’s separate from the Trump administration’s boat strike campaign, raising more questions about the U.S.’s violence in the region. The agency was seemingly involved in conducting surveillance flights for attacks on three vessels sailing near the Galápagos Islands in January and March, The Washington Post reported on Thursday. The U.S. has not provided any evidence that the vessels were involved in illicit activities, and survivors have said that they were merely fishing and had no relation to the drug trade. The attacks include one on a fishing vessel known as the Fiorella on January 20, which vanished without a trace, along with the eight Ecuadorian men on board. They are presumed dead by the UN. In the days prior to the disappearance, crew members had reported seeing drones flying around them, as well as a vessel with U.S. markings. The other 36 survivors of the strikes have said that they were abducted at gunpoint by men after the attacks on the vessels. They say they were handcuffed and hooded, tortured, and taken to El Salvador. They were then returned to Ecuador, all without explanation. “They treated us like animals,” one survivor of a March 26 flight told Drop Site News. Thus far, no country has taken responsibility for the attacks. Human rights experts have raised concerns about the attacks and have called for investigations into U.S. involvement, while prior reports have confirmed U.S. involvement. However, the links to the CIA are new, and spark concern over why the U.S. is involved in secretive strikes with no clear purpose. Ahead of each of the attacks, on January 20 and March 17 and 26, a surveillance plane took off from El Salvador’s airport, Ilopango, and flew southward toward the Galápagos, per the Post. The plane and six crew arrived in El Salvador from Tennessee in November. The surveillance flights were conducted in a manner that suggests CIA involvement, The Washington Post reported. The plane flies under a U.S. registration number that is not registered with the Federal Aviation Administration, which allows some aircraft to fly unregistered if they are related to the “national defense forces of the United States.” The plane is listed under a company that does not appear to exist; its mailing address is listed at a Virginia UPS store, as The New York Times reported this week. The attacks appear similar to the strikes in Operation Southern Spear, the administration’s “narco-terrorism” campaign in the region. However, the administration has consistently touted the strikes. Those strikes have killed 221 people so far and have been labelled as “murder” by critics, who say there is no legal basis for the administration’s “narco-terrorist” label. The U.S. has remained mum about the three strikes on Ecuadorian ships, despite numerous reports pointing to U.S. involvement and mounting pressure to answer for the strikes. Last month, Drop Site News reported that the Ecuadorian prosecutor assigned to investigate the strikes on the vessels was shot and killed in broad daylight in June. An important fundraising appeal: 7 Days to raise $42,000 Truthout is one of only a few platforms for justice-oriented, grassroots journalism. Today, as political censorship from the right intensifies, we have no choice but to ask for your help. We are fundraising right now to cover our basic operating expenses. If you can support Truthout with a one-time or monthly donation, you will make a significant impact on our work. Anything you can do makes a difference — we appreciate your support.