Colombian president accuses Ecuador after 27 charred bodies' found near border

"The Colombian leader said on Tuesday that an attack which had left 27 charred bodies did not appear to have been carried out by Colombia's own forces or any illegal armed groups which he said do not have armed planes. The explanation isn't credible, he said, later adding that an unexploded bomb dropped from an aircraft was found 100 meters from the home of an impoverished peasant family."

"Ecuador's president, Daniel Noboa, denied the accusations, insisting his government's security forces were operating strictly within national borders. We are acting in our territory, not yours, he said. He added that Ecuador was fighting narco-terrorism in all its forms and bombing places that serve as hideouts for those groups, of which many [groups] are Colombian."

"The exchange marks the latest in a series of increasingly public clashes between the two ideologically opposed leaders. Noboa, a close ally of Donald Trump, has repeatedly blamed Colombia for failing to prevent criminal groups operating along their porous shared border. On Tuesday, he said Colombia had allowed these groups to infiltrate our country due to neglect of its border."

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has accused Ecuador of conducting aerial bombing attacks on Colombian territory, claiming nearly 30 charred bodies were found near the border and an unexploded bomb was discovered near a peasant family's home. Petro stated the attacks could not have been carried out by Colombian forces or illegal armed groups lacking aircraft. Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa denied these accusations, asserting his security forces operate only within Ecuador's borders while combating narco-terrorism. The incident reflects escalating tensions between the ideologically opposed leaders, with Noboa, a Trump ally, repeatedly blaming Colombia for insufficient border control allowing criminal groups to infiltrate Ecuador. Previous disputes include Ecuador's 30% security tax on Colombian imports and retaliatory tariffs, as Ecuador battles intensifying drug-related violence from rival cartels competing for coastal cocaine trafficking routes.

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