ECUADOR FREES SURVIVOR OF U.S. NARCO-SUB STRIKE AS COAST GUARD MARITIME BORDER CRACKDOWN ESCALATES

Ecuador released Andrés Fernando Tufiño, a survivor of a U.S. strike on a suspected drug-trafficking submarine, after prosecutors said there was no evidence to detain him. President Trump had posted footage of the strike and said the two survivors would be returned to Ecuador and Colombia for prosecution; the Colombian survivor remains hospitalized and is expected to face charges. The episode comes amid an intensified U.S. maritime counternarcotics push, including Coast Guard operations like Operation Pacific Viper that officials say are accelerating interdictions on routes toward the U.S.