President of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, revealed that he had sought assistance from Israel and the United Arab Emirates to combat the drug cartels terrorising his nation, Al-Monitor via AFP reported on May 8th.
In an exclusive interview in Paris with AFP, the 37-year-old leader, who won re-election in April, confirmed that both countries had agreed to provide intelligence to assist with tackling traffickers of cocaine.
Ecuador, once a peaceful nation, now faces an average killing every hour. This is a direct consequence of drug cartels vying for control over cocaine routes passing through its ports.
During his campaign, Noboa suggested sending US special forces to Ecuador to curb the violence. He also floated the idea of legal reforms to enable US military bases to open.
Recently, Noboa visited Italy, Spain, the UK, and France, countries that have been grappling with rising cocaine consumption, in hopes of developing more security alliances.
He also engaged with Israeli and Emirati leaders, discussing cooperation on security ports and borders, areas plagued by cartel violence. Despite these talks, Noboa admitted that foreign countries showed little interest in creating military bases in Ecuador.
Ecuador’s ports, critical for the cocaine trade from Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia, have become major targets for the cartels. Noboa’s re-election, which followed a tight first-round race, was seen as a vote of confidence in his tough stance on the cartels.
Despite this, he faces the daunting task of uniting a nation dealing with rising violence and economic instability.
Noboa stressed the need to attract foreign investment to address Ecuador’s growing poverty, which now affects 28% of the population. His focus, he said, is on creating jobs, and he remains optimistic pointing to the country’s low inflation and strong bank deposits as evidence of its economic resilience.
Al-Monitor via AFP
+ There are no comments
Add yours