NEW YORK, September 8. /TASS/. US forces intercepted and destroyed a vessel operating in support of an Ecuadorian drug cartel in the eastern Pacific Ocean, US Southern Command reported.
"Intelligence confirmed the vessel’s involvement with the Los Choneros violent narco-terrorist organization," the command announced in a statement on X. Those on board will be handed over to Ecuadorian authorities, it added.
"After clearing the vessel and disembarking the crew, US forces sank it," the statement reads.
According to the US military, the cartel used the vessel as a refueling station.