US Marines Board and Sink Los Choneros Floating Refueling Station

US Marines and sailors operating from USS San Antonio boarded, searched, and cleared a floating refueling platform in the eastern Pacific that intelligence linked to Ecuador's Los Choneros criminal network. After the boarding concluded without reported resistance or casualties, US forces destroyed the vessel to remove infrastructure used to extend the range of trafficking craft. The action formed part of coordinated maritime interdiction activity with Ecuador, rather than a conventional naval battle or a seizure of a commissioned warship. Removing the logistics node raises the cost and risk of sustaining small vessels far from shore-based fuel supplies.