Ecuador announces 30 percent tariff on Colombia over drug trafficking

2 hours ago 4

Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa has revealed that, adjacent month, his state volition commencement to enforce a 30 percent “security tariff” connected its neighbour Colombia for failing to incorporate amerciable mining and the trafficking of cocaine.

Wednesday’s announcement echoes akin measures taken by United States President Donald Trump, who has criticised Colombia’s left-wing authorities for not pursuing a much assertive attack to cause trafficking.

Close ties to Trump

Noboa, 38, is simply a right-wing person who has expressed affinity for Trump and his policies.

When Trump was re-elected successful 2024, Noboa hailed the triumph with a societal media post saying that the “future looks agleam for the Continent”.

And since his ain re-election successful 2025, Noboa has backed Trump’s attempts to summation US power crossed Latin America, astir notably championing a failed referendum successful November that would person allowed the operation of US subject bases successful Ecuador.

Noboa’s medication has argued that adjacent practice with the US is indispensable to combat convulsive transgression successful the country. But the choky relations person besides bolstered Trump’s efforts to grow US authorization passim the Western Hemisphere.

Twice implicit the past year, Noboa has hosted Trump’s Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem: erstwhile successful July and a 2nd clip earlier the November ballot referendum.

“Ecuador has been an fantabulous spouse to the U.S. successful our enactment to halt amerciable immigration, cause trafficking, and smugglers connected onshore and connected the seas,” Noem wrote astatine the time.

Trump has made tariffs a hallmark of his 2nd word successful office, calling the word “the astir beauteous word” successful the dictionary. Since returning to the White House successful January 2025, helium has enacted a sweeping tariff campaign, which includes a baseline tariff of 10 percent connected astir each trading partners and further individualised tariffs for definite countries.

Trump has argued that tariffs support home industries portion feeding authorities coffers. He has besides utilized the economical punishment arsenic a means of forcing trading partners to taxable to argumentation demands.

Last year, for instance, Trump threatened the US’s neighbours, Mexico and Canada, with tariff hikes if they failed to adequately combat cause smuggling and cross-border immigration.

His medication has likewise imposed a tariff connected China to incentivise the state to staunch the travel of fentanyl.

But critics person questioned the legality of Trump’s tariff run and its coercive nature. Economists person besides warned that the taxation hikes connected imports could effect successful higher user prices domestically.

Gustavo Petro speaks to constabulary successful uniform

Fraying relations with Petro

For his part, Noboa appears to beryllium utilizing the menace of tariffs not lone to unit compliance with Ecuador’s transgression crackdown but besides to onslaught backmost astatine Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro.

A erstwhile rebel fighter, Petro was elected successful 2022 arsenic his country’s archetypal left-wing president. But helium has faced criticism, some domestically and abroad, astir his efforts to combat cause trafficking.

Colombia remains the world’s largest shaper of cocaine. In a 2024 report, the United Nations said the state had seen 10 consecutive years of rising accumulation potential. Nearly 253,000 hectares (645,000 acres) successful the state were dedicated to the cultivation of coca leaves, the earthy constituent successful cocaine.

Complicating efforts is simply a six-decade-long interior struggle successful Colombia. The slow-simmering struggle has agelong pitted authorities forces, right-wing paramilitaries, left-wing rebels and transgression networks against each other.

Since taking office, Petro has departed from the heavy-handed crackdowns of his right-wing predecessors, alternatively opting for a “Total Peace” program that involves dialog with equipped rebels and transgression groups.

His medication has besides overseen a displacement distant from the forced eradication of coca crops, mostly grown by impoverished agrarian farmers. Instead, it has pursued a strategy of voluntary harvest substitution, portion attacking the laboratories and facilities that process the leafage into drugs.

Petro has claimed his strategy has resulted successful the demolition of astir 18,400 drug-making labs. In addition, past November, his medication claimed to person made Colombia’s largest cause bust successful a decade, seizing 14 tonnes of cocaine.

But right-wing figures similar Trump person called for “more assertive action” from Colombia. The US president has gone truthful acold arsenic to endanger subject action, saying Petro should “watch his a**”.

Daniel Noboa and Kristi Noem spell horseback riding

Differences implicit transgression and politics

Noboa has been among Petro’s critics successful the region. His predetermination was buoyed, successful part, by a pledge to tamp down connected Ecuador’s burgeoning transgression crisis.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Ecuador has shed its estimation arsenic an “island of peace” successful Latin America, arsenic transgression enactment spiked.

That inclination coincided with a steep emergence successful murders. As of 2024, the deliberation vessel Insight Crime recovered that Ecuador had a homicide complaint of 44.6 for each 100,000 people, the highest proportionality of immoderate South American country. A full of 7,062 homicides were reported that year.

Experts accidental the transgression question reflects, successful part, Ecuador’s strategical presumption betwixt Colombia and Peru, the world’s second-largest cocaine producer.

But the timing of Noboa’s tariffs has raised questions astir the president’s motives — and whether helium was strictly focused connected crime, alternatively than politics.

On Tuesday, 1 time earlier the caller tariffs were unveiled, Petro posted connected societal media a connection successful enactment of Ecuador’s erstwhile Vice President Jorge Glas, a left-wing figure.

In 2024, Noboa had authorised a arguable raid connected Mexico’s embassy successful Quito to apprehension Glas connected bribery charges. Glas presently resides successful a maximum information prison, and Petro has accused the Ecuadorian authorities of utilizing “psychological torture” against the erstwhile politician.

“Just arsenic I demanded the merchandise of governmental prisoners successful Venezuela and Nicaragua, I judge Jorge Glass should beryllium released,” Petro wrote connected Tuesday.

The Glas lawsuit has been a root of ongoing hostility betwixt Petro and Noboa, starring immoderate critics to speculate whether the tariffs were, successful part, a effect to Tuesday’s post.

Ecuador and Colombia are among each other’s apical trading partners, and the caller taxes are apt to spur questions astir the aboriginal of determination commercialized agreements.

Read Entire Article