WASHINGTON, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- U.S. forces on Monday sank a vessel in the eastern Pacific that allegedly served as a floating refueling station supporting illicit at-sea drug trafficking operations, the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said.
"Intelligence confirmed the vessel's involvement with the Los Choneros violent narco-terrorist organization," SOUTHCOM said in a statement on X.
"Individuals removed from the vessel will be transferred to Ecuadorian authorities," the command said. "After clearing the vessel and disembarking the crew, U.S. forces sank it."
The command said the U.S. military continues to conduct "precise and professional operations to dismantle the logistical networks fueling narco-trafficking in the Western Hemisphere."
The operation was the latest in a series of U.S. maritime interdictions targeting vessels allegedly used as floating refueling stations for drug-trafficking networks in the eastern Pacific. ■