SAN LORENZO, Ecuador, March 20, (V7N) — A US‑supported crackdown on drug cartels along the Ecuador–Colombia border has triggered allegations that security forces bombed farms, burned homes and detained and mistreated villagers during recent operations.

José Peña, 66, said he hid in the bushes as two Ecuadoran military helicopters flew overhead on March 6. Moments later, an explosion “shook everything,” he told AFP, destroying the farm where he worked.

Ecuador’s interior minister said the strike targeted a camp run by the Border Commandos, one of several armed groups fighting for control of smuggling routes linking Colombia’s coca‑growing regions to drug markets in the United States and Europe.

In recent years, a proliferation of cartels and criminal networks has turned Ecuador into a major cocaine transit hub, pushing the country from one of Latin America’s safest to one of its most violent.

AFP journalists who visited the remote border zone saw three buildings reduced to rubble, with twisted zinc roofing, charred fruit trees and dead livestock scattered across the site. There were no visible signs of drug production.

Residents said soldiers burned three homes days before the bombing to ensure no one was inside. Community leader Vicente Garrido pointed to dead chickens and two dogs killed in the blast, saying farmers had “lost everything” and suffered abuse.

Gilson Vargas, 26, said he and four coworkers were arrested, blindfolded, kicked and threatened before being flown to a military base and held for hours. Videos kept by locals show men kneeling with covered faces before being loaded onto a helicopter. Neighbours who protested were dispersed by shots fired into the ground.

Lawyer Lina María Espinosa said clients reported torture, including near‑drowning and electric shocks. One man showed wrist injuries he said came from restraints, though AFP could not verify when or how they occurred.

In another village, residents said small aircraft dropped bombs on March 3, leaving a large crater on a nearby farm.

Ecuador’s government and prosecutors did not directly respond to questions about alleged abuses or destroyed homes. The operations form part of Operation Total Extermination, a US‑backed offensive ordered by President Daniel Noboa against armed groups moving drugs along the 600‑kilometre border with Colombia.

Human Rights Watch has reported abuses since Noboa declared an internal armed conflict earlier this year — allegations the government rejects.

The campaign has also strained relations with Colombia. President Gustavo Petro recently accused Ecuador of dropping an unguided bomb into Colombian territory. Soldiers later destroyed the device, which residents said landed close to a home.

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