Ecuador’s government later released one man – identified as Andrés Fernando Tufiño – saying there was no evidence of wrongdoing. The other man, from Colombia, reportedly remains hospitalised.
News of the strike comes as tensions rise between the Trump administration and the Colombian government of President Gustavo Petro, whom Trump has characterised as “a thug and a bad guy”.
“He better watch it or we’ll take very serious action against him and his country,” Trump said. “He has led his country into a death trap.”
On Sunday, Trump denounced Petro as an “illegal drug leader” who is “strongly encouraging the massive production of drugs, in big and small fields, all over Colombia.”
Trump added that the US will no longer offer subsidies to Colombia, which has historically been one of its closest allies in Latin America.
Both Colombia and nearby Ecuador have significant Pacific coastlines that experts have said are used to funnel drugs north towards the US through Central America and Mexico.
US estimates from the Drug Enforcement Agency, or DEA, indicate that the vast majority of cocaine bound for US cities passes through the Pacific.
Drug seizures in the Caribbean – where the bulk of confirmed US strikes have so far taken place – account for a relatively small percentage of the total, although US officials have warned it is rising.
To date, US officials have offered few details on the identities of those killed in the strikes or what drug trafficking organisations they allegedly belong to.
Around 10,000 US troops, as well as dozens of military aircraft and ships, have been deployed to the Caribbean as part of the operation.