Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced on Sunday his intention to sue his Ecuadorian counterpart Daniel Noboa for defamation, after Noboa accused him of meeting with alleged drug traffickers during a visit to Ecuador. The announcement comes as tensions between the two countries, which have been locked in a trade war for months, show no sign of abating.
"I have decided to file a defamation suit against President Noboa," the social-democrat Colombian president wrote on X.
Earlier this month, in an interview with Colombian magazine Semana, Noboa claimed that Petro had met with members of the Citizens' Revolution movement, founded by former socialist president Rafael Correa, who led Ecuador from 2007 to 2017, during a private visit to the southwestern port of Manta when he travelled to Ecuador for Noboa's inauguration in 2025. "Some of those members had ties to Fito," Noboa added, using the alias of José Adolfo Macías, leader of the Los Choneros drug trafficking gang, which is reportedly linked to the Mexican Sinaloa cartel and has since been extradited to the United States. "I cannot say at this point whether he met personally with Fito. But let us say he was with the same group and in the same area," Noboa said.
Petro responded with sarcasm. "I don't know if going to a location in Ecuador raises suspicion of making shady contacts," he said, announcing he would publish a list of "Ecuadorian nationals arrested and extradited" during his time in office to leave no doubt about his commitment to fighting organised crime.
A deepening bilateral crisis
Beyond the defamation dispute, Noboa has accused Petro of being unwilling to support the fight against drug trafficking along their shared border. The two countries have been engaged in a trade war since February, with tariffs announced at levels of up to 100%. The diplomatic crisis deepened further after Petro described Jorge Glas, former vice president under Correa from 2013 to 2017 and a man convicted on corruption charges, as a political prisoner, a move that prompted both countries to recall their ambassadors for consultations.
Source: CNA