Colombia’s Petro tells Noboa, ‘put your own house in order’; Azuay vice-prefect arrested for DUI; Noboa goes to Washington; Ecuador ranks 33rd for debt

Colombian President Gustavo Petro is returning verbal fire with President Daniel Noboa, saying Ecuador has become the “international center for drug trafficking.” The comment follows claims by Noboa that Colombia has failed to stop cocaine shipments from crossing the border into Ecuador.

While conceding that massive amounts of cocaine enter Ecuador from Colombia, Petro says the “cross-border transfer” is the result of lack of regulation at Ecuadorian ports. “Because of corruption and refusal to conduct thorough inspections of outgoing shipments, especially of bananas, Ecuador has become the leader in drug transport to Europe and the U.S.,” Petro said. “If he [Noboa] wants to stop cocaine from entering his country, he must first confront the reason why Ecuador is so attractive to the cartels,” adding that Noboa should “put his own house in order.”

The Deportivo Cuenca football team qualified for Copa Sudamericana competition Wednesday night with a 3-0 victory over Libertad FC of Loja. The game was played in the rain at a packed Alejandro Serrano Aguilar stadium.

As a result of his complaint of Colombian cocaine entering the country, Noboa has imposed a 50% tariff on most Colombian imports, a move matched by Colombia.

Vice-prefect arrested for DUI
The vice-prefect of Azuay Province, Alexandra Quintanilla, is spending her vacation in jail. Quintanilla applied for vacation leave following her February 28 arrest for drunk driving after a judge rejected her claim that the drugs she takes for epilepsy have an odor similar to alcohol. In delivering the 30-day sentence, a Cuenca judge said that “epilepsy does not smell like Zhumir.”

Quintanilla refused to take a breathalyzer test and the arresting police officer said she “exhibited the overwhelming smell of alcohol” when she exited the car. In addition to treatment for epilepsy, Quintanilla said she was taking medication for a nervous breakdown.

Besides the 30-day sentence in traffic jail, Quintanilla was ordered to pay a fine of $1,446.

Mr. Noboa goes to Washington
President Daniel Noboa is among the heads of 10 Latin American countries who will travel to Washington, D.C. to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday, March 7. Besides Noboa, the presidents of Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago will participate in meetings to discuss what the White House describes as “common interests.”

Although no agenda has been released, the U.S. State Department said earlier that “relations with China, Venezuela and Cuba” will be discussed. “We will discuss our ‘Shield of the Americas’ program that promotes freedom, security and prosperity in our region,” the State Department said in a press release.

Ecuador ranks 33rd among the most indebted countries
Ecuador ranks 33 among the world’s most indebted countries with a total debt of 132% of Gross National Product (GDP), according to the Global Debt Monitor and the World Bank. The monitor reports that the government owes 59% of the debt while corporate debt is 44% and household and personal debt amounts to 29%.

The world’s most indebted country is semi-autonomous Hong Kong with a debt of 380% of GDP, followed closely by Japan at 372%. The U.S. ranks seventh at 264%.