Sina Finance reported that the U.S. Southern Command posted on X that U.S. forces intercepted a floating refueling platform in the eastern Pacific that supported illegal maritime drug smuggling.

The command said intelligence linked the platform to Los Choneros, a violent drug trafficking organization.

U.S. forces cleared the platform, allowed the crew to disembark, and then sank the vessel.

The evacuated crew members will be handed over to Ecuadorian authorities.