Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) , Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations , led their colleagues in pressing for answers about the sharp discrepancy between the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and Ecuadorian military regarding a violent joint counternarcotics operation carried out in March 2026. Between March 1 and March 6, 2026, Ecuadorian and United States armed forces carried out a violent counternarcotics operation in the remote village of San Martin, located on the banks of the San Miguel River bordering Colombia and consisting of about two dozen impoverished families located in the Amazon jungle. The operation is the subject of multiple reports by journalists and human rights organizations who either visited the site or spoke and toured the property remotely with the registered owner, an Ecuadorian farmer who raised cows, pigs, and chickens. In their letter to DOD Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Senators wrote: “On March 6, 2026, your department released a statement that it had conducted a joint counternarcotics operation earlier that day with the Ecuadorian military. The statement included the following: ‘We commend President Noboa, the Government of Ecuador, and the brave troops of Ecuador’s defense and security forces for their partnership in the successful operation against a narco-terrorist supply complex today, disrupting their operations and logistics.’ The Administration’s March 9 Notification of Military Action notes that ‘United States Armed Forces partnered with Ecuadorian Armed Forces to strike on March 6, 2026, the facilities of narco-terrorists affiliated with a designated terrorist organization . . . Although present . . .United States ground forces did not come into contact with hostile forces.’ The Administration has not publicly identified the target of the strike nor its precise role in the operation.” The Senators continued: “We are aware that the Ecuadorian – Colombian border is a dangerous area known for illegal mining and cocaine trafficking. However, also well-documented is a pattern of gross human rights violations by the Ecuadorian military. Reputable U.S., Ecuadorian, and international human rights monitors report that the human rights record of the Ecuadorian military has deteriorated significantly since the Ecuadorian government announced an ‘armed conflict’ against organized crime in January 2024. According to Freedom House, in Ecuador, ‘the deployment of the armed forces for public security and prison control, known as ‘Plan Fenix,’ has been linked to cases of extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, torture, and arbitrary detentions.’ Amnesty International and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights have cited dozens of cases of enforced disappearances by the Ecuadorian military.” The Senators requested answers from Secretary Hegseth on the following questions: Since the operation, has anyone from the U.S. Government been to the site or spoken to the owner of the property, the workers, or any of the inhabitants of San Martin? Was any evidence of the production or trafficking of illicit drugs, or other criminal activity, discovered as a result of the operation? If so, what evidence? Which narco-terrorist organization was the intended target of the operation? The Ecuadorian military claimed the target was Comandos de la Frontera, an organized crime group that has operated for years on both sides of the Colombia-Ecuador border. Is that accurate, and has Comandos de la Frontera been designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and/or a Designated Terrorist Organization? What U.S. capabilities were provided as part of the operation and were any U.S. Government personnel involved in the operation? Were any U.S. Government funds used for any purpose related to the operation? Were any U.S.-origin aircraft or munitions used for any purpose related to the operation? If so, pursuant to what legal authority were they used? What was the chain of command connecting U.S. and Ecuadorian forces? What measures were taken to avoid harm to innocent people present in the area? Which U.S. agency or agencies provided the intelligence the Ecuadorian authorities say they received from the United States that was used to conduct the operation, and did that intelligence include information from current local inhabitants or recent surveillance footage of the site? Please provide a detailed summary of the intelligence used, in classified form if warranted. Has anyone from your department reviewed the intelligence Ecuadorian authorities say they received from the United States since March 1 to confirm its accuracy? What steps is your department taking to conduct a credible, thorough investigation of what happened? The letter is cosigned by Sens. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.). Read and download the Senators’ full letter to DOD Secretary Hegseth. In their lette r to Ecuadorian Chargé d’Affairs Maria Pena, the Senators wrote: “According to villagers who were present, on March 1, Ecuadorian soldiers disembarked from helicopters and burned two houses. On March 3, the Ecuadorian military bombed one of these houses. Interviews and satellite imagery analysis reportedly indicate that the houses had been long abandoned. That same day, soldiers arrested four of the farmer’s Colombian workers at gunpoint. The workers were taken, reportedly with their shirts covering their heads, by helicopter to a military base. They later described being subjected to torture, including beatings, suffocation, electric shocks, threats of mutilation, and mock executions. We are not aware of any evidence that any of the men had a criminal record. A prosecutor ordered their release after the military failed to provide evidence of criminal activity or about the circumstances of their arrests.” The Senators continued: “On March 6, the Ecuadorian military returned and in a joint military operation with the United States bombed the farmer’s property, destroying several wooden structures. Public reporting does not confirm that the Ecuadoran military acted alone in striking these targets nor indicate that any cocaine or other illegal drugs, or any evidence of drug trafficking was found.” The Senators requested answers from Chargé d’Affairs Pena on the following questions: Since March 1, has anyone from your government been to the site or spoken to the owner of the property, the workers, or any of the inhabitants of San Martin? What capabilities did the United States provide in support of the joint operation? Which U.S. agency or agencies provided the intelligence to the Ecuadoran military that was used to conduct the operation, and what did that intelligence consist of? Did the intelligence include information from current local inhabitants or recent surveillance footage of the site? What was the chain of command connecting U.S. and Ecuadorian forces? What measures were taken to avoid harm to innocent people present in the area? Was any evidence of illicit drug production or trafficking, or other criminal activity discovered as a result of the operation? What steps is your government taking to conduct a credible, thorough investigation of what happened? How is the U.S. military collaborating with the Ecuadorian Attorney General’s investigation? If the intelligence provided by the U.S. Government was faulty and the version of events described by the farmer, the workers, and villagers is accurate, will your government compensate the farmer for his losses and the farm workers for the abuses they suffered? The letter was cosigned by Sens. Merkley, Kaine, Warren, and Rosen. Read and download the Senators’ full letter to Ecuadorian Chargé d’Affairs Maria Pena. ###