Ecuador says vessel sinkings part of joint US drug trafficking probe

Ecuador defended on Friday U.S. operations that intercepted and sank three Ecuadorean vessels this week, saying they were the product of joint

investigations to disrupt drug trafficking.



The sinkings are the latest in a broader U.S. military campaign known as Operation Southern Spear that has destroyed some 70 vessels and killed more than 220 people over the past year, drawing criticism from human rights groups and some Latin American leaders who call the strikes extrajudicial killings.



"This is work carried out through international cooperation," Ecuador's Interior Minister, John Reimberg, told local broadcaster Teleamazonas. "This is not something where action is taken lightly or the first time something suspicious is seen."