SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:
Today, we return to a story that NPR has been following closely, Ecuadorian fishermen who say a U.S.-flagged vessel attacked them at sea and destroyed their boats. Their allegations come as the U.S. military expands its controversial anti-drug trafficking operations across the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean. The Trump administration insists the operations are legal. Nearly 200 people have been killed in more than 50 strikes targeting vessels that the U.S. says were being used by suspected narcotraffickers. NPR's Carrie Kahn reports from Ecuador.
CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE: In the courtyard of a small hotel off the main coastal strip in Manta, Ecuador, music videos are playing on a TV by the pool. This is as close to water fisherman Jhonny Sebastian Palacios says he gets these days.
JHONNY SEBASTIAN PALACIOS: (Speaking Spanish).
KAHN: "I don't want to go to sea anymore," he says. "That was the kind of experience you only want once in your life."
Palacios was one of 20 crew members on the Don Maca ship, fishing off the Galapagos Islands in mid-March. His account is similar to stories NPR has heard from other fishermen in at least two other incidents off Ecuador's coast. First, the fishermen describe being followed by a large blue boat flying a U.S. flag.
PALACIOS: (Speaking Spanish).
KAHN: "All the while, drones were hovering over us," Palacio says. On March 26 around 5:00 p.m., Palacio says he was below deck loading the day's catch into freezers when the first blast hit.
PALACIOS: (Speaking Spanish).
KAHN: "I was with a companero, and we just heard - boom. I flew in the air and then onto the floor," he says. Jaime Cervantes Macia, the ship's mechanic, was also stunned.
JAIME CERVANTES MACIA: (Speaking Spanish).
KAHN: "I thought the boat's motor had exploded," he says. Then, they say, the men aboard the nearby big blue boat waved them over.
PALACIOS: (Speaking Spanish).
KAHN: "They took us on board one by one," says Palacios. They were in camouflage, had assault weapons and spoke English, according to the fishermen. "They cuffed us and put hoods over our heads."
PALACIOS: (Speaking Spanish).
KAHN: "I just thought here, they're going to kill us," says Palacios.
In another incident, fishermen on the Negra Francisca Duarte told NPR their boat also was attacked, and the crew was taken aboard a U.S.-flagged boat and also cuffed and hooded. Ultimately, both crews were handed over to Salvadoran authorities and had to pay their own way home. None of the fishermen have been charged in the U.S., El Salvador or Ecuador.
JUAN ALVIA CEVALLOS: (Speaking Spanish).
KAHN: "We have seen this same pattern multiple times," says lawyer Juan Alvia (ph). He represents the crew of a third ship, the Fiorella, which in January also reported being followed by drones while fishing. The Fiorella was found burning off the Galapagos Island. Its eight crew members have not been heard from since. NPR asked multiple U.S. agencies, including the Southern Command military to respond to the fishermen's allegations. None did. The search for answers in Ecuador has been equally unsuccessful. NPR asked local port authorities, the defense and foreign ministries, and the president's office, which declined multiple interview requests.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DANIEL NOBOA: We haven't received a report. It wasn't in Ecuadorian waters.
KAHN: This was Ecuador's president, Daniel Noboa, earlier this month in the U.S. at a forum at the Washington, D.C., Atlantic Council. He denied Ecuador had been informed about any incidents yet also questioned fishermen's motivations and location.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
NOBOA: In an area that doesn't make any sense that they were fishing. So we need to investigate. We need to know what they were carrying, the characteristics of the boat, the evidence.
KAHN: Noboa, a close Trump ally, did not say whether Ecuador has asked the U.S. for information about the fisherman's claim of mistreatment. Calls seeking clarification from Noboa's office were not returned. Many of the fishermen believe they'll never get answers.
(SOUNDBITE OF PIG GRUNTING)
KAHN: Jhonny Sebastian Palacios says he's keeping his feet on land for now, farming pigs and soon chickens.
PALACIOS: (Speaking Spanish).
KAHN: "I'm just too scared," he says, "to go back and fish again." Carrie Kahn, NPR News, Manta, Ecuador. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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