A covert CIA operation carried out a series of drone strikes on Ecuadorian fishing boats near the Galápagos Islands earlier this year, according to a Washington Post investigation published Wednesday that has intensified scrutiny of US military activities in Latin America.
Survivors of the attacks described small quadcopter drones that either dropped munitions on their vessels or directly crashed into them. After being shipwrecked, crew members said they were picked up by a nearby vessel, hooded and cuffed by armed men, and transported to El Salvador before being returned to Ecuador without explanation. Witnesses said the attackers spoke English and wore uniforms bearing US flag patches.
Separate From Open Drug War Campaign
The Post reported that the strikes are distinct from the US Department of Defense’s publicly acknowledged bombing campaign against suspected drug-trafficking boats, which was launched in September 2025 and has killed at least 220 people. The CIA program operated in secrecy, with no public acknowledgment of the agency’s involvement. Flight data linked a patrol plane based in El Salvador to the attacks on the fishing vessels.
No evidence has emerged that the Ecuadorian crew members targeted in the strikes were involved in drug trafficking, the Post noted. The Galápagos Islands have increasingly become a hub for drug traffickers, where local fishermen are known to pick up jobs delivering fuel to smugglers heading to the United States, but the specific vessels hit appear to have been engaged in legitimate fishing.
Former Officials Question Secrecy
Several former US officials with experience in Latin America expressed bewilderment at the need for a covert operation when the Trump administration has openly boasted about its other boat-striking campaigns. “It begs the question about why you would need to do this,” one former official told the Post. “What would be the purpose of the secrecy?”
“It begs the question about why you would need to do this. What would be the purpose of the secrecy?” – Former US government official, as quoted by the Washington Post
The attacks were also reported by The New York Times on Tuesday, which presented evidence linking the strikes to the United States without identifying the specific agency involved. Amnesty International had previously raised suspicions of US involvement in the January disappearance of the Ecuadorian fishing boat Fiorella, finding that the vessel was “allegedly subjected to sustained monitoring by aircraft, patrol boats, and drones bearing United States markings.”
Human rights organizations and international law experts have condemned the broader US boat-striking campaign in the region as extrajudicial killings. The revelation of a separate, covert CIA program raises additional legal and diplomatic questions about the extent of US operations in Ecuadorian waters and the treatment of civilian fishermen caught in the crossfire.
Sources: The Washington Post; The New York Times; Amnesty International; Common Dreams
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