US‑Backed Airstrikes in Ecuador Leave Border Communities Reeling Amid Abuse Allegations

A US‑backed campaign against drug trafficking along the Ecuador‑Colombia border has left several communities frightened and pleading for answers after air and helicopter strikes residents say destroyed farms, burned houses and resulted in detentions and alleged abuses.

Eyewitness Accounts

Sixty‑six‑year‑old Jose Pena told AFP he hid in bushes as two Ecuadorian military helicopters thudded overhead. He described a sudden "boom" on March 6 that "shook everything" and reduced the farm where he worked to rubble. Locals in another village reported that small aircraft dropped bombs on March 3, leaving a large crater on a nearby farm.

Damage Observed

AFP reporters who visited the remote border zone found three buildings flattened, with scorched zinc roofs twisted amid debris. Dead animals lay scattered; a lemon tree was charred and an avocado tree had shed all its fruit. Reporters said they saw no visible signs of drug production or trafficking at the damaged sites they inspected.

Allegations Of Detention And Abuse

Residents say soldiers burned three homes days before the March 6 strike, apparently to ensure no one remained inside. Community leader Vicente Garrido pointed to wreckage that included dead chickens and two dogs killed in the blast and said farmers had lost everything and been mistreated.

"These are homes where we farmers live," Garrido said.

Twenty‑six‑year‑old Gilson Vargas said he and four coworkers were arrested, blindfolded, kicked and threatened before being flown to a military base and held for hours. Videos retained by residents reportedly show men kneeling with covered faces before being bundled into a helicopter. Neighbors who protested were dispersed after soldiers fired shots into the ground.

Lawyer Lina Maria Espinosa said several clients reported torture, including near‑drowning and electric shocks; one man displayed wrist wounds he said came from restraints. AFP could not independently verify when or how those injuries were sustained.

Government Response And International Reaction

Ecuador's interior minister told AFP the March 6 strike had been planned for months and targeted a camp run by the Border Commandos, one of several groups competing for smuggling routes that move coca from southern Colombia toward Pacific ports. Authorities and prosecutors did not directly answer questions about the alleged abuses or the damaged homes.

The operation — called "Operation Total Extermination" by the government — is a US‑backed offensive launched by President Daniel Noboa. Human Rights Watch has warned of abuses since Noboa declared an internal armed conflict; the government rejects those allegations. Colombian President Gustavo Petro has also protested the campaign, saying an unguided bomb fell into Colombia from Ecuador; soldiers later destroyed the unexploded device, which residents said landed not far from a home.

Context And Next Steps

In recent years an array of cartels and criminal networks has turned Ecuador into a major cocaine transhipment hub, dramatically increasing violence in parts of the country. Local leaders, rights groups and some international observers are calling for an independent investigation into the strikes, detentions and allegations of torture to establish the facts and determine accountability.