HRW alleges civilian abuse in joint US-Ecuador anti-drug operations

Human Rights Watch has accused Ecuadorian soldiers of abusing civilians during joint anti-drug operations with the United States, in a report focused on actions carried out between January and March. The rights group said farmers and fishermen were caught up in military operations aimed at organised crime, and that the campaign included attacks on land and at sea. It also said the US had provided equipment, training, intelligence and, more recently, direct military support to Ecuador.

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The report said its findings were based on 62 interviews, along with more than 100 photographs and videos, satellite imagery, vessel monitoring data, fire detection data, medical records and judicial documents. In one episode between March 1 and 6 in a border settlement near Colombia, the group said Ecuadorian soldiers arbitrarily detained and tortured four dairy farm workers while burning three properties. It said munitions were later dropped on two of those locations.

One of the detained men told investigators that soldiers shocked him with electricity, poured water on him and caused him to lose consciousness more than once. Human Rights Watch said the four men were not charged because soldiers failed to provide evidence against them. The group also said its review of photographs, videos, satellite imagery, property records and commercial receipts found no evidence that the targeted sites were camps for the armed group Comandos de la Frontera, which authorities had said they were targeting.

The report called on the US Congress to exercise greater oversight over Washington's security partnership with Ecuador. Juanita Goebertus, the organisation's Americas director, said the cooperation had been too opaque and too dangerous for Ecuadorians. The allegations come at a time when Ecuador has been intensifying its response to organised crime and cross-border armed groups, particularly along the frontier with Colombia.

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That makes the reported abuses significant not only as a human rights issue, but also as a test of how far foreign-backed security cooperation can go before civilian protections are weakened. The report also raises questions about accountability in operations that combine local military force with US support, especially when the stated target is an armed group operating on both sides of the border. The case is likely to draw attention in Washington because the report directly links US assistance to alleged abuses on the ground.

It also adds pressure on Ecuadorian authorities, who have defended the operations as part of a wider campaign against organised crime. Human Rights Watch said the evidence it reviewed did not support the claim that the properties struck were used by Comandos de la Frontera, although the authorities have maintained that the group was the intended target. What remains unclear is whether either government will open a formal review of the incidents described in the report.

It is also not yet clear whether the US Congress will act on the call for closer oversight or whether Ecuadorian authorities will respond publicly to the specific allegations of detention, torture and property destruction. The broader issue to watch is whether the security partnership changes in response to the report, or whether the operations continue with the same level of secrecy and military support.

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