Rights Groups Allege US Complicity in Ecuadorian Military Abuses

A new report from Human Rights Watch reveals that security cooperation between the Trump administration and the government of Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has operated with minimal oversight, leading to severe civilian harm. In one documented incident near the Colombian border, soldiers detained four dairy farmers, subjecting them to waterboarding, beatings, and the destruction of their property. While Gen. Francis L. Donovan characterized the operation as a professional success before the Senate Armed Services Committee, victims maintain they were targeted despite having no criminal records.

The report further highlights three separate attacks on fishing vessels near the Galápagos Islands between January and March. Eight crew members from the vessel Fiorella remain missing, while survivors of two other boats describe being intercepted by armed personnel in American-style military attire. These survivors reported being hooded, beaten, and held on metal decks without medical care before their vessels were destroyed. Despite these testimonies, the US Department of Defense and the Coast Guard have denied involvement in the maritime incidents.

Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch, warned that the current level of operational opacity poses a direct threat to the safety of Ecuadorian citizens. Amnesty International has joined the call for transparency, urging authorities to clarify the role of state agents in these operations. With at least 221 deaths linked to similar extrajudicial tactics in the region, critics argue that security operations against organized crime are being used as a shield for systemic human rights violations.