Ecuador’s military, citing U.S. intelligence, said the bombing target was a drug hideout with no livestock. The farmer then showed USA TODAY his livestock.
Residents say their farms were bombed in a joint U.S.-Ecuador military operation
Ecuadorian officials say a joint operation with the United States has destroyed a drug-trafficking group’s hideout. Residents claim that their farms were destroyed.
On a sunny afternoon in San Martin, Ecuador, on March 26, Miguel, a 32-year-old Ecuadorian carpenter, gave a USA TODAY reporter a remote tour of his farm in the Amazon via a WhatsApp video call. The inspection came in response to a March 25 statement from the Ecuadorian Ministry of Defense that, based on U.S. intelligence, his property was not a dairy farm, as reported, but a hideout for drug trafficking.
Almost three weeks ago, Ecuador’s military bombed Miguel’s farm in a joint military operation with the United States.
Ecuador’s Ministry of Defense announced that it worked with the United States to verify intelligence information on the ground in northeastern Ecuador in preparation for a complete extermination operation in early March. A statement from the ministry said Miguel’s property could not be a dairy farm because “there were no livestock or any such production activities.”
Officials said the farm was actually a hideout for the leader of a Colombian drug-trafficking group and a training ground for 50 drug traffickers. The U.S. Department of Defense, now known as the Department of the Army, recently announced that the U.S. and Ecuador conducted the operation “jointly.”
Miguel, who asked USA TODAY not to use his last name for fear of retaliation from security forces, denies any ties to criminal organizations. In a video call, he said he was confused that authorities had not been able to see any livestock on his land in the village of San Martín, where 27 families live.
Miguel said he currently has 37 cows on his 345-acre farm, including three calves, one of which is five days old and being treated for skin worms. Approximately 222 of them are on pasture. As well as sows, he also kept ducks and geese, which appeared in international news photos scavenging the remains of demolished properties.
Ministry refutes New York Times report
In a March 25 statement, Ecuador’s Ministry of Defense disputed USA TODAY’s independent report and a New York Times report on Miguel’s dairy farm bombing that was published on the same day. USA TODAY spoke with Miguel, a village official and an attorney with the Human Rights Alliance, a coalition of Ecuadorian rights groups representing San Martín residents.
The Defense Ministry said in a statement that it “rejects any claims that distort the facts.” “The Armed Forces will continue to take strong action against transnational organized crime to protect the country and Ecuadorian families.”
Ecuador’s Ministry of Defense did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
The ministry said the military scouted and secured the area to avoid collateral damage. A Defense Ministry statement said the Ecuadorian government will investigate any situation related to human rights.
Only three chickens died in the bombing, Miguel said, pointing to a cluster of feathers between broken bricks. However, the four employees claimed they were beaten, abducted and tortured by the Ecuadorian military.
Mario Pazminho, a former intelligence chief in the Ecuadorian army, said there was no way the attack could have been a mistake.
“Military intelligence gathering is an intelligence gathering process that takes various periods of time, sometimes months,” he told Ecuador’s news outlet Teleamazonas. “Once we have that information, a special intelligence team will infiltrate the area and gather local intelligence.”
Residents show property records and take farm tours
Miguel provided property records reviewed by USA TODAY showing he owns the property, which he filed with his local state government in March 2022. He is also a member of the San Martín Farmers’ Association, recognized by the Minister since 2010.
In a video call, Miguel stood on the foundations of a house and kitchen that once housed four workers and showed off a crumpled cooler used to store cheese. Near where the chicken coop had been, he gathered the remaining pieces of farm equipment, including a broken sickle and two torn saddles.
In a small wooden hut, now without a roof or walls, they made queso prensado, a pressed cheese, and sold it at a local bakery. Two dented blue bottles of Quajo Titanium, a liquid clotting enzyme used to curdle milk, were left on a wooden table covered in mud.
From the cabin window, we could see the San Miguel River and Colombia on the other side.
In early March, Ecuadorian military planes and helicopters flew along the river as part of a joint military operation.
According to a March 12 complaint filed with Ecuador’s Interior Ministry, Ecuadorian soldiers are suspected of setting fire to two unoccupied homes starting March 1, then setting fire to Miguel’s farm on March 3, detaining four employees. The workers told the United Nations Human Rights Office that the Ecuadorian military then tortured them.
Rifle used by US intelligence agency recovered, Ecuador announces
The Ministry of Defense announced that its military has arrested four Colombian nationals and four employees on suspicion of involvement with the Colombian drug trafficking organization Border Command. The Defense Department said its officials used intelligence information verified in cooperation with the United States.
The Ministry of Defense said that during the operation, authorities discovered a semi-automatic rifle and a magazine containing 30 rounds in the operation area, which was not disclosed in a prior announcement. Authorities did not say where the weapon was found. Miguel said he does not have any firearms on his farm.
Residents filmed military personnel loading the men into a helicopter. The men said they were then electrocuted, their bodies hung upside down for more than two hours, beaten and threatened not to talk about their detention when they were released on March 4, the suit said.
On March 6, Ecuadorian troops returned, this time to bomb the remains of Miguel’s property, as captured in a video shared by the War Department. The United States said Total Extermination demonstrated the success of cooperation between the two countries to aggressively combat drug traffickers.
Although Ecuador is not a major producer of cocaine, it borders Colombia and Peru, the world’s two largest producers. Ecuador is a major smuggling route to the United States.
U.S. Southern Command, which participated in the operation, declined to comment. The Army Department says it does not comment on investigations and refers questions about intelligence gathering to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The agency did not respond to emailed questions.
Residents of San Martín filed a complaint with the Ecuadorian government in mid-March regarding the bombing and allegations of torture. In response to reports about the operation, the Ecuadorian public prosecutor’s office responded to residents on March 25 and the Office of the Government Ombudsman responded to residents on March 24 that their respective offices had opened investigations into military actions, including allegations of torture, according to documents reviewed by USA TODAY.
Ecuadorian government aims to strengthen borders
The Ministry of Defense said approximately 40 kilometers of the Ecuadorian border is a national security zone and any unauthorized construction or settlements are illegal.
“A building in this condition is therefore a crime,” the statement said.
It is unclear what law supports the ministry’s statement. Ángel González, a lawyer with the Human Rights Alliance, said the national security law applies to foreign nationals who own property along the border, but does not include Miguel, an Ecuadorian national, according to identification documents and property records.
Back at the farm, Miguel shared a video from his barn showing the cows standing on a fence under a corrugated metal roof. The bachata played faintly, with the bouncy sound of the guitar cutting through the cow growls.
The barn, about 50 meters from where the bomb was dropped on his farm, can be seen on Google Maps.
Contributor: Boris Q’va, USA TODAY Network
Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Contact us via email (emcuevas1@usatoday.com) or Signal (emcuevas.01).
