Ecuadorean troops find 35m-long 'narco-sub' hidden in nature reserve

Ecuadorean troops find 35m-long 'narco-sub' hidden in nature reserve2 hours agoVanessa Buschschlüter,Latin America online editorandPascal Fletcher,BBC MonitoringEcuadorean Defence MinistryTroops seized the vessel in a nature reserve near the Colombian borderThe Ecuadorean military says it has seized a 35m-long (115ft) "narco submarine" hidden in a nature reserve near the country's border with Colombia.The semi-submersible had been carrying 6,000 gallons (22,700 litres) of fuel and was ready to embark on "a long drug-smuggling voyage", Ecuador's ministry of defence said in a statement.The discovery came shortly after Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa announced a "new phase" in his government's war on drug cartels.Sandwiched between Colombia and Peru - the world's largest producers of cocaine - Ecuador has become a key country through which illicit drugs transit from South America to the US, Europe and as far as Australia.Troops found the submarine in a mangrove swamp in the Cayapas–Mataje nature reserve.They also found a camp nearby, which they said was being used by criminals as a logistics hub to prepare vessels for smuggling drugs.As well as the 35m-long sub, the security forces also seized six speedboats, seven outboard motors and dozens of barrels of fuel.The troops came under fire during the operation from "armed individuals", the defence ministry said.There was no mention of any arrests being made or of any drugs seized in its statement.Ecuadorean Defence MinistryThe submarine had been hidden in a mangrove swampNoboa has been working closely with the Trump administration to curb the flow of drugs from his country into the US.Earlier this week, he discussed security co-operation with the commander of US Southern Command, Gen Francis Donovan, in the Ecuadorean capital, Quito.But there was no immediate mention of the participation of US forces in the operation that seized the narco-sub in the swamp.The US has, however, carried out dozens of strikes on boats suspected of carrying drugs in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean since it started "Operation Southern Spear" in September.More than 150 people have been killed in those strikes.