Laura Gamba
17 March 2026•Update: 17 March 2026
BOGOTA, Colombia
Tensions between Bogota and Quito reached a new high as Colombian President Gustavo Petro accused Ecuador of conducting cross-border air strikes.
The allegation follows the discovery of an unexploded bomb near the shared border, an incident Petro characterized as a violation of national sovereignty.
"A bomb dropped from an airplane has been found. We are going to investigate the circumstances thoroughly," Petro said during a Cabinet meeting late Monday. "It is very close to the border with Ecuador, which confirms my suspicion ... they are bombing us from Ecuador, and it is not the armed groups."
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa denied the "unfounded "allegation.
"President Petro, your statements are unfounded; we are operating on our territory, not yours."
Petro revealed that he had contacted US President Donald Trump to request mediation.
"I asked Trump: ‘Take action, call the president of Ecuador, because we do not want to go to war," he said.
While Petro has had a fractious relationship with the Trump administration, Noboa has emerged as one of Washington’s closest security allies in the region.
The alleged bombing occurs as Ecuador intensifies its US-backed domestic security offensive. Last week, Ecuadorian forces, with US support, destroyed a camp belonging to the Border Commandos, a Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) dissident group operating in the border region.
Quito and Washington launched a two-week joint plan Sunday to crush drug trafficking networks, placing four provinces -- Guayas, El Oro, Los Ríos and Santo Domingo de los Tachilas -- under strict military curfews.
Interior Minister John Reimberg confirmed that the offensive would receive direct "advice" from the US through March 31. The cooperation was recently solidified by an agreement to open the first FBI office in Quito to combat transnational crime.
Ecuador is also a founding member of Trump’s "Shield of the Americas," a 17-nation military alliance signed in the US state of Florida earlier this month. Notably, Colombia was excluded from the bloc, a snub that has deepened the rift between Petro and the regional conservative movement led by Noboa, and Trump.
The "bombing" accusation is the latest flashpoint in a trade war that began in January. Noboa initiated the hostilities by imposing a 30% "security tax" on Colombian imports, accusing Petro of failing to police the border.
In a critical blow to Ecuador’s power grid, Colombia suspended all electricity exports, while simultaneously imposing reciprocal tariffs on dozens of Ecuadorian products.
The Noboa administration responded in kind by raising the transport fees for Colombian crude oil flowing through its pipelines. The economic friction reached a new peak March 1, when the "security tax" on Colombian goods was hiked to 50%, further deepening the divide between the neighboring nations.
