Description
On September 16, 2026, U.S. Marines assigned to Littoral Combat Force-24, conducted a maritime interdiction operation with Sailors from the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS San Antonio while underway in the Eastern Pacific. B-roll footage released by the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service shows the forces executing the mission from the ship, including aviation support from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 365 UH-1Y Venom helicopters.
U.S. Southern Command stated that Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere forces interdicted a vessel functioning as a floating refueling station for illicit at-sea drug trafficking. Intelligence linked the vessel to the Los Choneros, an Ecuadorian organization designated as a violent narco-terrorist group. Boarding teams cleared the vessels, removed the individuals aboard, and transferred them to Ecuadorian authorities before sinking all of the ships the drug traffickers were using.
SOUTHCOM commander Marine Gen. Francis L. Donovan described the action as a deliberate and lawful operation conducted in coordination with Ecuadorian partners to disrupt logistical networks supporting narcotics trafficking.
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