Journalistic investigations debunk the official version of the U.S.-backed military operation.
On Tuesday, The New York Times published an article showing that Ecuador’s armed forces bombed not a narcoterrorist camp but a dairy farm in the Amazonian province of Sucumbios, which borders Colombia.
Previously, on March 3, Ecuador and the United States announced they had begun joint operations in Ecuadorian territory against “terrorist” organizations.
Days later, spokespeople for President Daniel Noboa’s government said Ecuador’s armed forces had bombed and destroyed a training camp belonging to the “Frontier Comandos,” a dissident group from the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla.
However, an investigation by local outlet Radio Sucumbios, which preceded The New York Times report, refuted the Ecuadorian government’s claims.
Journalists interviewed the farm’s owner, workers, human rights defenders, and local residents, who provided details of what actually occurred.
The military operation was carried out in two phases. In the first, the farm was set on fire, and days later, the site was bombed, according to Radio Sucumbios.
Farmworkers testified that they were detained and tortured. They emphasized that Ecuadorian military forces found no weapons or any other material linking the dairy farm to illicit activities related to guerrilla groups or drug trafficking.
“Farmworkers told the New York Times that Ecuadorian soldiers arrived by helicopter on March 3, doused several shelters and sheds with gasoline, and set them on fire after questioning the workers and beating four of them with the butts of their weapons,” an article published by Chilean outlet BioBio recalled.
“Three of the workers, who requested anonymity for fear of government reprisals, said the soldiers later suffocated them and subjected them to electric shocks before letting them go… The soldiers returned to the site three days later and destroyed the facilities. They later took photos and videos of what had occurred.”
These events were presented by the Noboa administration as part of the ongoing “war on drugs” in a country that has become one of the most dangerous in the world since conservatives returned to power.
Bertha Velez, a lawmaker from the Citizen Revolution, commented on the situation, highlighting the implications of the Ecuadorian government’s actions.
“What was presented as a blow against ‘narcoterrorism’, in reality, may have been the bombing of a dairy farm, with farmers detained, tortured and entire communities terrorized,” she posted on X.
“This is no longer just a mistake. It is a way of operating that, under the discourse of security, ends up harming the people and sowing fear in rural areas,” the lawmaker stressed.
On Wednesday, in response to The New York Times report, the Ecuadorian government reaffirmed its official version of events, maintaining that its military forces bombed a camp belonging to an illegal armed group.
“Before, during and after the operation, the area was identified, secured and isolated to prevent collateral damage. In that context, it is clarified that the site targeted was not a dairy farm, as there was no presence of livestock or productive activity of that kind in the area,” Ecuador’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.
It also claimed that Ecuadorian authorities allegedly found “a semiautomatic rifle and a magazine with 30 rounds,” which was categorically denied by farmworkers, as reported by Radio Sucumbios.
Over the last month, Ecuadorian military operations in the border area triggered a diplomatic impasse with Colombia after President Gustavo Petro said his country was being bombed from Ecuadorian territory, as Colombian citizens found an unexploded bomb belonging to Ecuador.
Both countries later resolved the incident after a binational technical commission concluded there was a high probability that the device landed in Colombia after ricocheting upon impact in Ecuadorian territory.
teleSUR/ JF
Sources: EFE – Radio Sucumbios – BioBio – NYT
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