Overview
- Ecuador’s defense ministry said this week the bombed site was a trafficker hideout based on U.S. intelligence, while the owner showed cattle, property records and cheese-making tools in a remote video tour of the ruins.
- Troops first arrived March 3, when workers say soldiers torched sheds, detained four men and beat them during interrogations that included choking and electric shocks.
- The same area was hit with explosives March 6 in a strike U.S. officials touted as joint with Ecuador, with the Pentagon saying the U.S. provided a helicopter while not taking part in the bombing.
- Officials claim the site trained about 50 traffickers and say they recovered a semiautomatic rifle, yet they have released no photos or data to support those assertions despite often publicizing seizures.
- After residents filed complaints, Ecuador’s ombudsman and public prosecutor opened inquiries on March 24 and March 25 into the raid and torture claims, intensifying scrutiny of a campaign that recently expanded from sea strikes to partner-led land operations.