Spanish
Quito.- Cuba became the fourth country with which Ecuador breaks diplomatic relations since President Daniel Noboa came to power, while currently maintaining a trade war with Colombia whose end is not yet in sight.
In just two years, with the right-wing Noboa in command, Ecuador has broken relations with the majority of left-wing governments in Latin America, while it has also ceased to recognize the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) to support Morocco's position that Western Sahara should be a Moroccan autonomy.
The decision of the Ecuadorian president to expel the Cuban ambassador to Ecuador, Basilio Gutiérrez, along with all his diplomatic staff, and at the same time withdraw the Ecuadorian ambassador in Havana, José María Borja, caused surprise as there had been no public episode of confrontation, beyond being governments of opposing political signs.
Ecuador had not taken a decision of this magnitude with Cuba, not even when its embassy in Havana was invaded in 1981 to arrest dissidents of Fidel Castro who were seeking refuge.
Instead, Noboa took that step a few hours before traveling to the United States to participate in the summit that a group of right-wing presidents from Latin American countries will have with Donald Trump.
Since April 2024, the Noboa government also severed ties with Mexico, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, following the assault ordered by the Ecuadorian ruler on the Mexican embassy in Quito to capture former vice president correista Jorge Glas, who had been granted asylum by the Mexican government after declaring himself a political persecutee. In solidarity with the invasion of the Mexican embassy, Venezuela and Nicaragua also broke off relations with Ecuador, to the point that none of the three countries sent a representative to participate in the Ibero-American Summit held in 2024 in the Ecuadorian city of Cuenca. So far, Noboa has been uncompromising when asked about resuming relations with Mexico, as he anticipates that he will not accept as a counter-performance that Glas leaves prison, especially after having taken him to the so-called "Cárcel del Encuentro", the prison built by Noboa in the style of Nayib Bukele in El Salvador. The case of asylum for Glas and the invasion of the Mexican embassy is in the hands of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Open trade war
Also due to the capture of Glas, Ecuador's relations with Colombia deteriorated and cooled with a series of disagreements between Noboa and the Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, which led to a recent trade war launched by the Ecuadorian head of state. This trade conflict began with mutual tariffs of 30%, but has recently been raised to 50% after Ecuador broke off dialogue by accusing Colombia of not showing greater commitment in monitoring the border to prevent large quantities of cocaine from reaching the country, which is the cause of the worst criminal violence crisis that the Andean country is experiencing today. Unexpectedly, Noboa first announced a 30% tariff on Colombia, which responded with the same rate for a series of 72 products and the prohibition of land entry for several of them, including the star products of the Ecuadorian export basket, such as bananas and shrimp. Colombia also suspended the supply of electricity to Ecuador, key to mitigating the energy crises it has had in recent years by not reaching its generation to supply domestic demand, which from Quito was answered with the increase in the tariff for the transport of Colombian oil through Ecuadorian pipelines, from 3 to 30 dollars per barrel.
You can also read: Ecuador expels Cuban diplomatic staff
The Capture of GlasSince April 2024, the Noboa government also severed ties with Mexico, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, following the assault ordered by the Ecuadorian ruler on the Mexican embassy in Quito to capture former vice president correista Jorge Glas, who had been granted asylum by the Mexican government after declaring himself a political persecutee. In solidarity with the invasion of the Mexican embassy, Venezuela and Nicaragua also broke off relations with Ecuador, to the point that none of the three countries sent a representative to participate in the Ibero-American Summit held in 2024 in the Ecuadorian city of Cuenca. So far, Noboa has been uncompromising when asked about resuming relations with Mexico, as he anticipates that he will not accept as a counter-performance that Glas leaves prison, especially after having taken him to the so-called "Cárcel del Encuentro", the prison built by Noboa in the style of Nayib Bukele in El Salvador. The case of asylum for Glas and the invasion of the Mexican embassy is in the hands of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Open trade war
Also due to the capture of Glas, Ecuador's relations with Colombia deteriorated and cooled with a series of disagreements between Noboa and the Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, which led to a recent trade war launched by the Ecuadorian head of state. This trade conflict began with mutual tariffs of 30%, but has recently been raised to 50% after Ecuador broke off dialogue by accusing Colombia of not showing greater commitment in monitoring the border to prevent large quantities of cocaine from reaching the country, which is the cause of the worst criminal violence crisis that the Andean country is experiencing today. Unexpectedly, Noboa first announced a 30% tariff on Colombia, which responded with the same rate for a series of 72 products and the prohibition of land entry for several of them, including the star products of the Ecuadorian export basket, such as bananas and shrimp. Colombia also suspended the supply of electricity to Ecuador, key to mitigating the energy crises it has had in recent years by not reaching its generation to supply domestic demand, which from Quito was answered with the increase in the tariff for the transport of Colombian oil through Ecuadorian pipelines, from 3 to 30 dollars per barrel.
