Ecuadorian fishing crew vanishes, families blame U.S. military operation
Eight crew members of the fishing vessel Fiorella disappeared off Manta, and their families accuse the United States of involvement.
On 19 January, Juan Carlos Valencia Mero exchanged anxious texts with his wife, Maria Mero, before the fishing vessel Fiorella and its eight crew members disappeared the next day off the coast of Manta, Ecuador. Two crew members who had separated from the main boat survived and described a dense column of smoke in the area where the Fiorella vanished. Maria Mero and other relatives have sought explanations from the port authority, local courts, the national assembly in Quito, and the U.S. embassy, but their pleas have gone unanswered.
They allege that the United States is responsible for the incident, a claim supported by investigations from Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Comité des droits humains de Guayaquil, as well as reporting by the New York Times and the Washington Post. The U.S. government has denied any role in the disappearance.
