A massive controversy is rocking the U.S.-Ecuador military alliance after a New York Times investigation revealed that a high-profile "drug camp" bombing actually obliterated a local dairy farm.
The incident gained international attention in early March 2026 when U.S. officials released a dramatic video of a massive explosion in the remote village of San Martín.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth personally touted the footage on social media, claiming the U.S. military was finally taking the fight to land-based narco-terrorists.
However, a ground-level probe in San Martín tells a starkly different story of a legitimate agricultural operation reduced to smoking rubble and charred cattle remains.
The Times visited the site and found the twisted metal of a dairy facility rather than the armed training compound described in glowing official military reports.
The investigation further complicates the narrative by raising questions about who actually pulled the trigger on the specific strike shown to the millions of viewers online.
While the Pentagon initially claimed it had executed targeted action at Ecuador’s request, four sources with knowledge of the operation now say U.S. troops had no direct involvement in that specific blast.
The strike was meant to be a crowning achievement for President Trump’s new military partnership with conservative Latin American leaders aimed at crushing drug networks.
Human rights lawyers and village leaders have expressed outrage over the intelligence failure, pointing to the destruction of civilian livelihoods under the guise of national security.
The farm’s owner and his workers maintain they have zero ties to illegal groups and were simply running a multi-generational business in the rural highlands.
As the fallout continues, the case has become a focal point for critics questioning the accuracy of the administration’s new land-based bombing campaign in South America.
The discrepancy suggests a major gap between the high-definition success videos shared by Washington and the reality of the collateral damage left behind on the ground.