Ecuador\u2019s President Daniel Noboa has revealed that, next month, his country will start to impose a 30 percent \u201csecurity tariff\u201d on its neighbour Colombia for failing to contain illegal mining and the trafficking of cocaine.<\/p>\n
Wednesday\u2019s announcement echoes similar measures taken by United States President Donald Trump, who has criticised Colombia\u2019s left-wing government for not pursuing a more aggressive approach to drug trafficking.<\/p>\n list of 3 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n In a social media post<\/a>, Noboa unveiled the new tariff on Colombian imports. He warned that the new tax would remain in place until the country showed \u201ca real commitment to jointly confronting drug-trafficking and illegal mining at the border\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have made genuine efforts to cooperate with Colombia, even while facing a trade deficit exceeding $1bn annually,\u201d Noboa wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cBut while we have insisted on dialogue, our military continues to confront criminal groups linked to drug trafficking at the border without any cooperation from Colombia. Therefore, given the lack of reciprocity and decisive action, Ecuador will apply a 30 percent security tariff on imports from Colombia starting February 1.\u201d<\/p>\n Noboa, 38, is a right-wing leader who has expressed affinity for Trump and his policies.<\/p>\n When Trump was re-elected in 2024, Noboa hailed the victory with a social media post<\/a> saying that the \u201cfuture looks bright for the Continent\u201d.<\/p>\n And since his own re-election in 2025, Noboa has backed Trump\u2019s attempts to increase US influence across Latin America, most notably championing a failed referendum in November that would have allowed the construction of US military bases in Ecuador.<\/p>\n Noboa\u2019s administration has argued that close cooperation with the US is necessary to combat violent crime in the country. But the tight relations have also bolstered Trump\u2019s efforts to expand US authority throughout the Western Hemisphere.<\/p>\n Twice over the past year, Noboa has hosted Trump\u2019s Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem: once in July and a second time before the November ballot referendum.<\/p>\n \u201cEcuador has been an excellent partner to the U.S. in our work to stop illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and smugglers on land and on the seas,\u201d Noem wrote<\/a> at the time.<\/p>\n Trump has made tariffs a hallmark of his second term in office, calling the term \u201cthe most beautiful word\u201d in the dictionary. Since returning to the White House in January 2025, he has enacted a sweeping tariff campaign, which includes a baseline tariff of 10 percent on nearly all trading partners and additional individualised tariffs for certain countries.<\/p>\n Trump has argued that tariffs protect domestic industries while feeding government coffers. He has also used the economic penalty as a means of forcing trading partners to submit to policy demands.<\/p>\n Last year, for instance, Trump threatened the US\u2019s neighbours, Mexico and Canada, with tariff hikes if they failed to adequately combat drug smuggling and cross-border immigration.<\/p>\n His administration has similarly imposed a tariff on China to incentivise the country to staunch the flow of fentanyl.<\/p>\n But critics have questioned the legality of Trump\u2019s tariff campaign and its coercive nature. Economists have also warned that the tax hikes on imports could result in higher consumer prices domestically.<\/p>\n For his part, Noboa appears to be using the threat of tariffs not only to force compliance with Ecuador\u2019s crime crackdown but also to strike back at Colombia\u2019s President Gustavo Petro.<\/p>\n A former rebel fighter, Petro was elected in 2022 as his country\u2019s first left-wing president. But he has faced criticism, both domestically and abroad, about his efforts to combat drug trafficking.<\/p>\n Colombia remains the world\u2019s largest producer of cocaine. In a 2024 report, the United Nations said the country had seen 10 consecutive years of rising production potential. Nearly 253,000 hectares (645,000 acres) in the country were dedicated to the cultivation of coca leaves, the raw ingredient in cocaine.<\/p>\n Complicating efforts is a six-decade-long internal conflict in Colombia. The slow-simmering conflict has long pitted government forces, right-wing paramilitaries, left-wing rebels and criminal networks against each other.<\/p>\n Since taking office, Petro has departed from the heavy-handed crackdowns of his right-wing predecessors, instead opting for a \u201cTotal Peace\u201d plan that involves dialogue with armed rebels and criminal groups.<\/p>\n His administration has also overseen a shift away from the forced eradication of coca crops, largely grown by impoverished rural farmers. Instead, it has pursued a strategy of voluntary crop substitution, while attacking the laboratories and facilities that process the leaf into drugs.<\/p>\n Petro has claimed his strategy has resulted in the destruction of nearly 18,400<\/a> drug-making labs. In addition, last November, his administration claimed to have made Colombia\u2019s largest drug bust in a decade, seizing 14 tonnes of cocaine.<\/p>\nRecommended Stories <\/h2>\n
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