Ecuadoran military and police forces seized a cartel sub and clashed with gunmen in a swamp region of Ecuador. The raid came soon after the nation announced the start of joint operations with U.S. military forces aimed at stopping drug cartels in Latin American countries.
This week, the Ecuadoran Ministry of Defense announced the seizure of the sub in a swamp region in the country’s northern Cayapas-Mataje, on the border with Colombia. The incident began when military forces learned of a narco-camp in the region and sent out their forces to raid it. When the Ecuadoran forces got close, cartel gunmen began firing, and a shootout ensued. It remains unclear if there were any casualties during the clash.
A search of the camp turned up not only a large narco-sub, but also seven speedboats, and thousands of gallons of fuel. In their statement, Ecuadoran officials claimed that the camp and the items there were meant for enabling smuggling operations.
While Ecuadoran military forces make no mention of the U.S. military taking part in the raid. The announcement came just one day after the U.S. Southern Command announced the start of joint operations in Ecuador. In a social media post, the U.S. military shared a video of its forces participating in a raid.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
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