Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported Friday that US forces intercepted and destroyed eight Ecuadorian fishing vessels between August 28 and September 16, detaining more than 140 of the 160 crew members aboard and allegedly subjecting some of them to abuse.

Juanita Goebertus, HRW’s Americas director, said the operations cannot justify arresting people without evidence:

Intercepting fuel trafficking at sea may be an important step to stop criminal groups, but that doesn’t allow security forces to arrest people without evidence, destroy their vessels, or abuse them. Ecuador and the United States should disclose the legal basis for these operations, clarify the criteria used to intercept and destroy vessels, and establish robust safeguards to prevent further abuse.

HRW went on to say that the US and Ecuadorian governments should disclose the legal basis for the operations and investigate the alleged mistreatment of the detained crew members.

US military forces alleged that the vessels served as floating refueling stations for drug-trafficking operations tied to Los Choneros, an Ecuadorian criminal organization. Neither the US Government nor the Ecuadorian government has publicly produced evidence linking individual crew members to a crime. Of the 160 detained, 90 now face criminal investigation in Ecuador. However, Ecuadorian judges have ruled that 56 of the arrests were unlawful, and found that 14 were never brought before a judge at all.

HRW interviewed 27 people, including captains, crew members, relatives of detainees, and defense lawyers, in addition to reviewing photographs, videos, Ecuadorian Judicial Police reports, and court records, however the organization said they could not independently verify whether any of the vessels were used for fuel trafficking. HRW also noted that the destruction of the boats themselves may have eliminated evidence that could have clarified what happened.

The first interception of the vessel Los Tres Hermanos on August 28 set the pattern HRW says has recurred across multiple operations. According to the captain and the crew, armed US forces ordered them to lie face down and restrained them with zip ties without explanation, then transferred them to the USS San Antonio, where they were then placed in metal handcuffs and crew members had their eyes and ears covered while biometric data was collected.

Crew members from at least four vessels told HRW that they were kicked or struck while boarding, held for hours without food, adequate water, or bathroom access, and given orders in English they could not understand. Several said interpreters relayed threats that they or their families would face consequences unless they confessed to trafficking fuel.

The operations are part of a broader, legally contested US campaign of lethal strikes on suspected drug vessels across the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean since early September, which the administration has justified under Title 10 military authority rather than congressional authorization — a rationale questioned by lawmakers from both parties. Unlike in those strikes, the Ecuadorian crews were removed from their boats before the boats were destroyed, and President Daniel Noboa has publicly backed the interceptions as “joint operations.”

Ecuadorian courts have split on the legality of the detentions, with judges in Manta and on Galápagos ordering the release, without charge,  of 56 crew members after prosecutors presented no evidence of a crime. 90 others remain charged with “unlawful association” and are barred from leaving the country. A Manta court heard trial testimony for 34 of those defendants on September 28, and a ruling is expected on October 7.