Crisis between Ecuador and Colombia escalates with investigation into bombing

The crisis between Colombia and Ecuador reached a new level after the Colombian government reported the presence of a bomb dropped by an airplane in the border area and reported a sequence of explosions near peasant communities.

President Gustavo Petro stated that the signs point to military actions from Ecuadorian territory and mentioned the existence of 27 charred bodies, while Daniel Noboa’s government denies incursions, but admits bombings against Colombian groups, increasing tension between the countries.

“A bomb appeared, thrown from a plane. How this happened will be rigorously investigated, very close to the border with Ecuador. This somewhat confirms my suspicion, but it needs to be investigated. They are bombing us from Ecuador and they are not armed groups”, said Gustavo Petro this Monday (16), during a meeting of the Council of Ministers.

“This somewhat confirms my suspicion, but it needs to be investigated. They are bombing us from Ecuador and they are not armed groups,” said Gustavo Petro. “There have already been many explosions. There is a recording that I believe should be made public; it was not made by us, it came to us and comes from Ecuador.”

The Colombian also stated that he sought dialogue with the White House, a first-time ally of the Noboa government, given the seriousness of the case and the possibility of military escalation.

“I asked the president of the United States to act and call the president of Ecuador, because we do not want to go to war,” he declared.

“We also do not have to be bombarded with smaller weapons. National sovereignty must be respected”, he stated, also indicating that the artifact found is active and that decisions and responsibilities will be taken after the technical investigation.

The statements come days after the Ecuadorian president himself publicly acknowledged carrying out bombings in the border region.

In an interview with Univisión, Noboa confirmed attacks in the province of Sucumbíos, an area bordering Colombia, and attributed the operations to the fight against Colombian armed groups, as he had anticipated. Red Portal.

Read also: Noboa admits US troops in Ecuador and bombings on the border with Colombia

Read also: Ecuador begins military operation with the US and expels Cuban ambassador

On that occasion, the president held Bogotá directly responsible for the origin of the organizations that operate in the region.

Noboa is part of the group of 17 heads of state that make up the “Shield of the Americas” coalition, announced by the White House in March, at a summit that brought together far-right governments under the leadership of Donald Trump.

Presented as a “security” policy, the initiative operates, in practice, as an instrument of imperialist intervention by the United States in Latin America, with these governments directly aligning themselves with Washington’s strategy, increasing the militarization of the region and the risk of destabilization of the continent’s countries.

Quito’s position was reinforced by the Ecuadorian Foreign Minister, Gabriela Sommerfeld, who confirmed the carrying out of military operations against armed group camps close to the border.

According to her, “Ecuador, in fact, carries out attack operations on camps belonging to irregular groups. They are not Ecuadorian; they are groups that cross our border from Colombia, but are located in Ecuadorian territory.”

The case became more serious after the location of an explosive device in a rural area close to the border between Colombia and Ecuador, in the municipality of Ipiales, in the department of Nariño. The discovery led to the immediate dispatch of security forces and specialized teams, who began inspecting the material and cordoning off the area.

According to the Colombian Ministry of Defense, specialized military personnel from the Air Force were sent to the site to analyze the artifact, identify its characteristics and determine its origin.

The Ecuadorian government maintains that military operations take place exclusively within its territory and target structures linked to drug trafficking and illegal mining.

In response, Petro again contested the Ecuadorian version and stated that there is no plausible explanation for the presence of 27 charred bodies in the border region. According to him, “the explanation is not credible”, associating the deaths with ongoing military operations and reporting that bombs had hit areas close to peasant families who replaced coca cultivation with legal activities.

The escalation occurs amid deepening cooperation between Ecuador and the United States in the area of ​​security.

Last week, the two countries formalized the opening of an FBI office in Ecuadorian territory, focused on combating international organized crime. Furthermore, Ecuadorian and North American forces have already carried out joint operations in the border region, including actions against dissent from the former FARC.

Noboa himself has defended an increase in military presence and cooperation with Washington and even admitted the possibility of the presence of US troops in the country, placing the crisis in a broader scenario of strategic alignment with the United States.

The military tension adds to an ongoing economic and diplomatic crisis between the two countries since January 2026.

That month, Ecuador imposed a 30% tax on Colombian imports, justifying the measure by criticizing Bogotá’s actions in combating drug trafficking on the border. Colombia responded with tariffs on 73 Ecuadorian products and interrupted electricity supplies to the neighboring country.

Then, the Ecuadorian government started charging tariffs for transporting Colombian oil and raised the rate to 50% from March 1st.

Despite the escalation, Chancellor Gabriela Sommerfeld stated that Ecuador intends to resume dialogue with Colombia through the Andean Community, while maintaining the demand for greater Colombian control over the border region.

Read also: Ecuador mobilizes 30 thousand soldiers in joint operation with the USA