Colombia Alleges Ecuador Meddled in Election

Colombia Accuses Ecuador of Election Interference

Colombia's foreign ministry on Saturday accused Ecuador of "deliberate interference" in Colombia's presidential election, scheduled for Sunday. This accusation follows Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa's announcement on Friday that Ecuador would remove bilateral tariffs on June 1, an agreement reportedly reached with right-wing Colombian presidential candidate Abelardo De La Espriella.

President Noboa stated on social media platform X that the tariff removal was contingent on De La Espriella's willingness to promote a joint effort against "narcoterrorism" and an agreement on the handover of Ecuadorean criminals in Colombia. The Colombian foreign ministry rejected this characterization, calling it a "misleading presentation of the decision to remove the tariffs as a measure of good faith." Colombia also indicated it would proceed with removing its own measures adopted to mitigate Ecuador's tariffs.

The two nations have been engaged in a trade dispute for several months. Ecuador had imposed tariffs, citing Colombia's alleged failure to control drug trafficking along their 586-kilometer shared border, a claim Colombian President Gustavo Petro has denied. De La Espriella is an independent candidate competing against Ivan Cepeda, an ally of President Petro, and Senator Paloma Valencia in the upcoming election.