{"id":98499,"date":"2026-09-10T12:49:42","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T12:49:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/u-s-destroys-another-alleged-drug-boat-as-rubio-defends-deadly-strikes-says-cartels-are-like-a-cancer\/"},"modified":"2026-09-10T12:49:42","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T12:49:42","slug":"u-s-destroys-another-alleged-drug-boat-as-rubio-defends-deadly-strikes-says-cartels-are-like-a-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/u-s-destroys-another-alleged-drug-boat-as-rubio-defends-deadly-strikes-says-cartels-are-like-a-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. destroys another alleged drug boat as Rubio defends deadly strikes, says cartels are &#8220;like a cancer&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended controversial strikes on suspected drug-trafficking boats during a visit to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/tag\/ecuador\/\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">Ecuador<\/a> on Wednesday, arguing Latin American cartels would &#8220;eat these countries alive&#8221; if left unchecked. Hours later, the U.S. military <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Southcom\/status\/2097843194650083595\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">confirmed<\/a> it conducted another deadly strike in the Caribbean Sea.<\/p>\n<p> Hailing a new generation of conservative leaders emerging across the region who are allied with President Trump, Rubio said Washington was finding partners willing to be &#8220;very aggressive&#8221; against criminal groups.<\/p>\n<p> Since Mr. Trump returned to power, the U.S. has conducted airstrikes against vessels plying known trafficking routes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.<\/p>\n<p> According to Pentagon figures, the operations have killed more than 200 people.<\/p>\n<p> Rights groups, fishermen and their relatives have questioned the campaign, alleging vessels were targeted without sufficient evidence of links to trafficking.<\/p>\n<p> Experts have also questioned whether they do anything to curb the flow of cocaine and other drugs to the United States &#8212; the world&#8217;s largest consumer.<\/p>\n<p> Speaking after talks with President Daniel Noboa in Quito, Rubio said the operations would continue.<\/p>\n<p> &#8220;If you don&#8217;t confront these groups, they will eat these countries alive,&#8221; he warned. &#8220;It&#8217;s like a cancer that continues to grow until you don&#8217;t literally have a state anymore.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p> &#8220;I&#8217;m glad that we have leaders in this region that are serious about going after these groups, because if we didn&#8217;t, we would have failed country after failed country.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed__float-wrap\">\n<figure class=\"embed embed--type-image is-image embed--float-none embed--size-medium\" data-ads=\"{\" extrawordcount=\"\">\n<p>      <span class=\"img embed__content \"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/09\/10\/910eee40-4b8b-49b9-a3e7-9f926212032a\/thumbnail\/620x414\/3dda65c0fca996384d04d312d854405f\/gettyimages-2293832264.jpg#\" alt=\"Secretary Rubio Meets With President Daniel Noboa In Quito \" height=\"414\" width=\"620\" class=\" lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/09\/10\/910eee40-4b8b-49b9-a3e7-9f926212032a\/thumbnail\/620x414\/3dda65c0fca996384d04d312d854405f\/gettyimages-2293832264.jpg 1x, https:\/\/assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/09\/10\/910eee40-4b8b-49b9-a3e7-9f926212032a\/thumbnail\/1240x828\/131b5c07df17bc7e4690491f950dccab\/gettyimages-2293832264.jpg 2x\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/span><figcaption class=\"embed__caption-container\">\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__caption\">U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a conference as part of an official visit to Ecuador at Carondelet Palace on September 9, 2026 in Quito, Ecuador.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                Franklin Jacome \/ Agencia Press South \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>                          <\/span><br \/>\n              <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> In recent weeks there have been signs of a shift in tactics, with <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/ecuador-us-backed-anti-drug-operations-were-at-war\/\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">joint U.S.-Ecuador patrols<\/a><\/span> removing crews from at least six boats before sinking the vessels. <\/p>\n<p>Last week, the U.S. military intercepted and <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/u-s-sinks-second-floating-refueling-station-used-by-alleged-drug-traffickers\/\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">sank a vessel<\/a><\/span>\u00a0that was allegedly being used to support at-sea drug trafficking by the Ecuadorian criminal organization Los Choneros. It came after a <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/us-takes-out-refueling-station-for-alleged-drug-trafficking-boats\/\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">similar operation\u00a0<\/a><\/span>that destroyed another vessel linked to the gang, one of Ecuador&#8217;s main drug trafficking and extortion groups.<\/p>\n<p>Rubio said decisions were made case by case and depended on the threat posed by a vessel, its location and local laws.<\/p>\n<p> &#8220;When you&#8217;re conducting a joint operation in territorial waters, you have to reach an understanding as to how those operations are going to occur,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p> Asked whether vessels would continue to be destroyed, Rubio replied: &#8220;Well again, it depends, and we still blow up ships.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p> Later Wednesday, the U.S. military&#8217;s Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said American forces executed a &#8220;lethal kinetic strike on a go-fast vessel operating along established narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p> The operation &#8220;killed three narco-terrorists,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Southcom\/status\/2097843194650083595\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SOUTHCOM posted on X<\/a> along with black-and-white footage of a ship exploding in the water and bursting into flames.<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed__float-wrap\">\n<figure class=\"embed embed--type-image is-image embed--float-none embed--size-medium\" data-ads=\"{\" extrawordcount=\"\">\n<p>      <span class=\"img embed__content \"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/09\/10\/9da38cf9-67b0-49f8-9ffe-819a3c066c6f\/thumbnail\/620x398\/c00c9add833c0da72a9a83c3b6e85e8f\/boat-strike-screenshot-2026-09-10-061809.png#\" alt=\"boat-strike-screenshot-2026-09-10-061809.png \" height=\"398\" width=\"620\" class=\" lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/09\/10\/9da38cf9-67b0-49f8-9ffe-819a3c066c6f\/thumbnail\/620x398\/c00c9add833c0da72a9a83c3b6e85e8f\/boat-strike-screenshot-2026-09-10-061809.png 1x\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/span><figcaption class=\"embed__caption-container\">\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__caption\">U.S. forces executed a &#8220;lethal kinetic strike on a go-fast vessel operating along established narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean,&#8221; SOUTHCOM said on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                SOUTHCOM<\/p>\n<p>                          <\/span><br \/>\n              <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>In Ecuador alone, more than 25,000 people have been murdered in the last three years as drug gangs have vied for control of trafficking routes.<\/p>\n<p> &#8220;We are talking about terrorists who, in many cases, possess weapons and equipment resembling the national armies of certain countries,&#8221; Rubio said.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year, American commandos\u00a0<span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/us-commandos-ecuador-joint-mission-alleged-narco-terrorists\/\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">joined<\/a><\/span>\u00a0Ecuadorian troops in a joint mission aimed at dismantling a suspected criminal hub operated by an alleged narco-terrorist organization along the country&#8217;s coast.<\/p>\n<p>Criminal\u00a0<span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/pool-hall-mass-shooting-ecuador-deaths-latest-massacre\/\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">gang violence<\/a><\/span>\u00a0continues unabated in Ecuador following the recapture in June 2025 of the country&#8217;s biggest drug lord,\u00a0<span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/jose-adolfo-macias-fito-recaptured-ecuador\/\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">Adolfo Mac\u00edas<\/a><\/span>\u00a0after his escape from a maximum-security prison in 2024. In July 2025, the Ecuadoran government\u00a0<span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/drug-lord-fito-extradited-us-from-ecuador\/\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">extradited Mac\u00edas<\/a><\/span>\u00a0to the U.S., where he faces multiple drug trafficking and firearms\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-edny\/pr\/jose-adolfo-fito-macias-villamar-leader-los-choneros-transnational-criminal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">charges<\/a>. \u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>U.S. blacklists &#8220;Tiguerones&#8221; as terror group<\/h2>\n<p>While in Quito, Rubio announced the designation of one Ecuadorian gang, Los Tiguerones, as a &#8220;terrorist organization&#8221; and sanctions against seven Ecuadoran former officials.<\/p>\n<p>The Tiguerones made international headlines in early 2024 when masked gang members <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/ecuador-gunmen-fire-shots-live-tv-country-violent-attacks-daniel-noboa\/\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">stormed a TV studio<\/a><\/span> during a live broadcast, firing shots and forcing terrified crew to the ground.<\/p>\n<p>The move to blacklist the gang comes about two months after the U.S. designated Ecuadorian gang the <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/us-designates-chone-killers-gang-terrorist-organization-ecuador\/\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">&#8220;Chone Killers&#8221;<\/a><\/span> as a foreign terrorist organization. The Chone Killers are an offshoot of\u00a0<span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/ecuador-drug-gang-los-choneros-leader-extradition-us\/\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">Los Chineros<\/a><\/span>, a gang the U.S. previously designated as a foreign terrorist organization in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>Los Lobos (The Wolves) and Los Choneros (after the city of Chone) are among Ecuador&#8217;s main drug trafficking and extortion gangs, with ties to international cartels. Last year, Los Lobos was\u00a0<span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/rubio-us-designating-ecuador-gangs-foreign-terrorist-groups\/\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">designated a terrorist organization<\/a><\/span>\u00a0by the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>After visiting Colombia and Ecuador, Rubio late Wednesday landed in Lima, where he will meet Peruvian leaders on the last stop of a tour to shore up rightwing allies and bolster U.S. influence across the region.<\/p>\n<p> In Colombia, Rubio pledged to restore &#8220;natural relations&#8221; with Bogota after years of leftist rule.<\/p>\n<p> He had less warm words for leftist-led Mexico, which he said was stepping up the cartel fight &#8220;but it is still not nearly enough.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p> &#8220;There are territories, vast territories in Mexico that are not governed by the state,&#8221; he said. &#8220;That threat will have to be confronted one way or the other.&#8221;<\/p>\n<section 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