MANTA — Ecuadorian fishermen aboard the vessel Don Maca reported being attacked by drones, detained by armed men on a U.S.-flagged boat, and transferred to Salvadoran authorities on March 26. The crew members said they were fishing off the Galapagos Islands when the incident occurred.
Jhonny Sebastian Palacios, one of 20 crew members on the Don Maca, said he was below deck when the first blast hit. "I was with a companero, and we just heard - boom. I flew in the air and then onto the floor." Jaime Cervantes Macia, the ship's mechanic, added, "I thought the boat's motor had exploded."
The fishermen described being followed by a large blue boat flying a U.S. flag, with drones hovering overhead. According to their account, armed men wearing camouflage boarded their vessel, spoke English, and used assault weapons. The crew said they were taken aboard the U.S.-flagged ship one by one, handcuffed, and hooded. "They took us on board one by one. I just thought here, they're going to kill us."
None of the fishermen have been charged in the U.S., El Salvador, or Ecuador. Requests for comment from multiple U.S. agencies, including U.S. Southern Command, went unanswered. Ecuadorian authorities, including local port officials, the defense and foreign ministries, and the president's office, also declined repeated interview requests.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa questioned the incident's location and the crew’s motives, stating in an archived recording, "We haven't received a report. It wasn't in Ecuadorian waters. In an area that doesn't make any sense that they were fishing. So we need to investigate. We need to know what they were carrying, the characteristics of the boat, the evidence." Calls to Noboa's office seeking clarification were not returned.