Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has revealed that, next month, his country will begin imposing a 30 percent “security fee” on its neighbor Colombia for failing to crack down on illegal mining and cocaine trafficking.
Wednesday’s announcement echoes similar measures taken by United States President Donald Trump, who has criticized Colombia’s left-wing government for not taking a more aggressive approach to drug trafficking.
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In social media PostNoboa unveils new tariffs on Colombian imports. He warned that the new tax would remain in place until the country “shows a real commitment to jointly combat drug-trafficking and illegal mining at the border”.
Noboa wrote, “We have made sincere efforts to cooperate with Colombia, despite an annual trade deficit of more than $1 billion.
“But while we insist on dialogue, our military is confronting drug-trafficking criminal groups at the border without any cooperation from Colombia. Therefore, given the lack of reciprocal and decisive action, Ecuador will impose a 30 percent security tariff on imports from Colombia starting February 1.”
Close ties to Trump
Noboa, 38, is a right-wing leader who has expressed an affinity for Trump and his policies.
When Trump was re-elected in 2024, Noboa hailed the victory via social media Post “The future looks bright for the continent,” he said.
And since his own re-election in 2025, Noboa has supported Trump’s efforts to expand US influence across Latin America, notably championing a failed referendum in November that would have allowed a US military base to be built in Ecuador.
Noboa’s administration has argued that fighting violent crime in the country requires closer cooperation with the United States. But the tighter ties have bolstered Trump’s efforts to expand US authority throughout the Western Hemisphere.
Twice in the past year, Noboa has hosted Trump’s Homeland Security Secretary Kristy Noem: once in July and the second time before the November vote referendum.
“Ecuador has been an excellent partner for the United States in our work to stop illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and traffickers by land and sea,” Noem said. wrote At that time
Trump has made tariffs a feature of his second term, calling them “the most beautiful word” in the dictionary. Since returning to the White House in January 2025, he has pursued a sweeping tariff campaign, including a 10 percent baseline tariff on nearly all trading partners and additional individual tariffs for certain countries.
Trump has argued that tariffs protect domestic industries while filling government coffers. They have used economic sanctions to force trade partners to make policy demands.
Last year, for example, Trump threatened to raise tariffs on US neighbors Mexico and Canada if they failed to adequately combat drug trafficking and cross-border immigration.
His administration has similarly imposed tariffs on China to encourage the country to stem the flow of fentanyl.
But critics have questioned the legitimacy of Trump’s tariff campaign and its coercive nature. Economists have also warned that the increase in taxes on imports may increase domestic consumer prices.
Relations with Petro deteriorated
For his part, Noboa appears to be using the threat of tariffs not only to force Ecuador to comply with a criminal crackdown, but also to retaliate against Colombian President Gustavo Petro.
A former rebel fighter, Petro was elected in 2022 as his country’s first left-wing president. But he has faced criticism at home and abroad for his efforts to fight drug trafficking.
Colombia is the world’s largest producer of cocaine. In its 2024 report, the United Nations said the country has seen 10 consecutive years of rising production capacity. About 253,000 hectares (645,000 acres) of the country were devoted to the cultivation of coca leaves, the raw ingredient in cocaine.
Colombia’s six-decade internal conflict is a complex endeavor. The slow-boiling conflict has long pitted government forces, right-wing paramilitaries, left-wing rebels and criminal networks against each other.
Since taking office, Petro has moved away from the vigorous crackdown of his right-wing predecessor, opting instead for a “total peace” plan that deals with armed rebels and criminal groups.
His administration has also overseen a shift away from the forced eradication of coca crops grown largely by poor rural farmers. Instead, they have adopted a policy of voluntary crop substitution, attacking laboratories and facilities that process the leaves into medicines.
Petro claims that his strategy has caused near-destruction 18,400 Drug Manufacturing Laboratory. In addition, last November his administration claimed that the Colombian made Biggest drug bust ever 14 tons of cocaine seized in a decade.
But right-wing figures like Trump “More aggressive action“From Colombia. The US president has gone so far as to threaten military action, saying that Petro should “watch his **”.
Difference between crime and politics
Noboa is one of Petro’s critics in the region. His selection was somewhat enthusiastic, given his pledge to tackle Ecuador’s growing crime crisis.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Ecuador has lost its reputation as the “Island of Peace” in Latin America, as criminal activity has increased.
This trend coincided with an increase in murders. By 2024, think tank Insight Crime found that Ecuador had a homicide rate of 44.6 per 100,000 people, the highest of any South American country. There were a total of 7,062 murders that year.
Experts say the crime wave reflects, in part, Ecuador’s strategic location between Colombia and Peru, the world’s second-largest cocaine producer.
But the timing of Noboa’s tariffs has raised questions about the president’s motives — and whether they were strictly focused on crime rather than politics.
On Tuesday, a day before the new rates were to be unveiled, the Petro posted A message on social media in support of former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glass, a left-wing figure.
In 2024, Noboa led a controversial raid on the Mexican embassy in Quito to arrest Glass on bribery charges. Glass currently lives in a maximum security prison, and Petro has accused the Ecuadorian government of using “psychological torture” against the former politician.
“Just as I called for the release of political prisoners in Venezuela and Nicaragua, I believe George Glass should be released,” Petro wrote Tuesday.
The glass case has been a source of continued tension between the Petro and Noboa, leading some critics to speculate on whether the tariffs were in response to Tuesday’s post.
Ecuador and Colombia are each other’s major trading partners, and the new taxes are likely to raise questions about the future of regional trade agreements.