The president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, announced this Wednesday (21) that his government will impose a 30% tariff on imports from Colombia, starting February 1, citing a “lack of reciprocity and firm actions” by Bogotá in the fight against drug trafficking.
The decision was communicated by the president in a publication on the social network
“While we insist on dialogue, our military continues to face drug trafficking on the border without any cooperation,” said Noboa.
According to the Ecuadorian president, the tariff will be maintained until there is a real commitment from Colombia to jointly confront drug trafficking and illegal mining in the border region, “with the same seriousness and decision” adopted by Ecuador.
According to data released by the authorities, drug seizures coming from Colombia or in border areas are frequent. One of the most recent occurred on the 6th, when the Ecuadorian Army located 2.2 tons of narcotics in the Amazon province of Sucumbíos.
According to the Ecuadorian government, there are suspicions that the cargo belonged to the Comandos de la Frontera, a dissident faction of the extinct guerrilla Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Ecuadorian authorities also attribute the murder of 11 soldiers on May 9 last year, during an ambush while carrying out an operation against illegal mining in the Ecuadorian Amazon, to this group.
