CIA linked to secret bombings of Ecuadorian fishing vessels near Galápagos, survivors allege abuse

One outlet's investigation says the CIA oversaw aerial surveillance missions launched from Ilopango airport in El Salvador that preceded attacks on three Ecuadorian vessels operating near the Galápagos Islands in January and March. The operations involved a plane registered under a U.S. number not listed with the FAA and tied to a phantom company with a Virginia UPS-store address. One of the targeted boats, the Fiorella, vanished on January 20 with eight Ecuadorian crew members now presumed dead by the United Nations.

Survivors of the other strikes, numbering 36, recount being captured at gunpoint, handcuffed, hooded, tortured and briefly taken to El Salvador before being released without explanation. The U.S. government has offered no evidence that the boats were engaged in illegal activity, and no nation has accepted responsibility for the attacks. Human-rights experts have called for inquiries into the covert strikes, noting their similarity to the administration’s Operation Southern Spear campaign. The revelations add a new layer of scrutiny to U.S. covert actions in the region.