US commandos blow up ‘drug boat’ (VIDEO)

The military said the vessel served as a floating refueling station for an Ecuadorian crime syndicate

The US military has released what it said was video of commandos intercepting and blowing up a vessel involved in the drug trade in the Eastern Pacific.

The video, published by US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) on Tuesday, shows a vessel that the military described as a floating refueling station operated in support of the “narco-terrorist” Los Choneros syndicate.

Commandos approached the vessel in a speedboat, boarded it and removed the crew. US forces sank the vessel after disembarking. The crew members were transferred to Ecuadorian authorities, SOUTHCOM said.

“We are exerting unrelenting pressure on these narco-terrorists and hurting them where it counts,” SOUTHCOM Commander General Francis Donovan said.

On Sept. 15, under the direction of #SOUTHCOM, Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere (JTF-WHEM) forces successfully interdicted a floating refueling station supporting illicit at-sea drug trafficking operations in the Eastern Pacific.

Intelligence confirmed the vessel's… pic.twitter.com/LEADvwvH9b

— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom)

September 15, 2026

DETAILS TO FOLLOW