BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Ecuador’s president on Tuesday rejected allegations that his country is bombing targets in neighboring Colombia as tensions escalate between the two South American nations.
President Daniel Noboa said on X that his government “is fighting narco terrorism in all its forms” and “bombing places that serve as hideouts for those groups, of which many are Colombian," but only within Ecuadorian territory.
Noboa was responding to Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who on Monday accused Ecuador of bombing targets on Colombia’s side of the border. He said a bomb had been found by Colombian officials, but provided no evidence to back up his claim, adding that he asked U.S. President Donald Trump to call Noboa and persuade him to stop the supposed operations in Colombian territory.
On Tuesday, Colombian state owned broadcaster RTVC, published photos of an unexploded bomb which it said had been found in a coca field, near the nation's border with Ecuador.
The bishops of the border cities of Ipiales in Colombia and Tulcan in Ecuador urged both governments to strengthen dialogue and cooperation to find solutions to problems in the border region, including drug trafficking.
“We are worried about the expansion of illicit activities that deteriorate our social fabric and cause great damage to the environment," the statement said.
The dispute comes as Colombia prepares for presidential elections in May, and relations deteriorate between Colombia and Ecuador, two neighboring nations that were once close commercial and security partners.
In January, Noboa imposed a 30% tariff on Colombian imports, which he later raised to 50%. The Ecuadorian president said Colombia has not done enough to stop drug traffickers and rebel groups from crossing into Ecuador, and said the tariffs, which he called a “security tax” will not be lifted until Colombia takes firmer actions against criminal groups.
Petro has denied accusations that his government is not acting against drug traffickers who ship Colombian cocaine out of Ecuadorian ports. The Colombian government has responded to Ecuador’s tariffs by imposing its own duties on Ecuadorian goods.
Noboa, a conservative, has struggled to reduce drug violence in Ecuador, where the homicide rate has quintupled over the past five years, and a nightly curfew is now being imposed by the government in four provinces in an effort to combat crime.
Recently Noboa’s government conducted a joint operation with U.S. forces against a drug traffickers camp near Ecuador’s border with Colombia, where drones, helicopters and river boats were deployed.
Petro, a leftist who was a member of a rebel group in his youth, has attempted to stage peace talks with Colombia’s remaining rebel groups under a strategy known as total peace.
Critics say the groups have used ceasefires with the government to tighten their grip over rural communities, as they fight over territory abandoned by the FARC, the guerrilla group that made a peace deal with Colombia’s government in 2016.
Associated Press writer Gonzalo Solano contributed from Quito, Ecuador.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Air Force personnel destroy an airstrip they suspect to be in use by illicit aircrafts, in Milagro, Ecuador, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Cesar Muñoz)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A “one in a million” malfunction during a live fire demonstration over Camp Pendleton last October led to a misfire that rained shrapnel on Interstate 5, striking two California Highway Patrol vehicles, a U.S. Marine Corps investigation found
An artillery shell exploded over the highway during a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Marine Corps, attended by Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Pieces of shrapnel scattered on the closed roadway and struck a CHP patrol car and a motorcycle.
In a 666-page report dated Dec. 19 and first reported on Monday, the Marines concluded that there “is no definitive answer” to why an M795 high explosive round detonated early at an altitude of about 1,480 feet (450 meters). Such a premature detonation is “beyond reasonable expectations and should not have happened, but it did,” the report says.
“It is manufactured to a tolerance of one defect in a million,” according to the report. Investigators ruled out any negligence or wrongdoing by Corps members.
Days after the malfunction, 26 California U.S. House members and the state’s two senators sent a letter to Hegseth asking who decided to shoot live artillery over the freeway and how authorities prepared for the safety risks.
The mishap deepened conflicts between President Donald Trump and California leaders including Gov. Gavin Newsom, with some Republicans initially chastising the governor for closing a 17-mile (27-kilometer) stretch of the freeway ahead of the live fire exercise. Other local leaders were exasperated by an unorthodox military display that they believe was orchestrated for the benefit of Trump administration officials.
“We’re thankful to the Marines for their thorough and precise investigation — in stark contrast to the dangerous and performative demands by JD Vance and Pete Hegseth to shoot live ammunition over a civilian area for their entertainment,” Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a spokesperson for Newsom’s office, said in an email Tuesday.
Newsom announced the highway closure in a statement ahead of the celebration, describing the live fire exercise as a show of force meant to intimidate Trump’s opponents, thousands of whom were demonstrating at “No Kings” protests throughout San Diego that day.
“Firing live rounds over a busy highway isn’t just wrong — it’s dangerous,” Newsom wrote at the time.
The Marine report concluded several factors could have contributed to the malfunction, including the howitzer guns being too close together when fired and the "potential presence of anomalous electromagnetic energy in the vicinity.”
The Oct. 18 demonstration at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton featured aircraft, ships, and amphibious assault vehicles to celebrate the anniversary. It involved firing artillery across the coastal freeway in a planned demonstration of 60 rounds, according to an October CHP incident report.
“It will be a good show regardless of who shows up,” Gen. Eric Smith, commandant of the Marine Corps, said in an Oct. 14 email to Brig. Gen. Garrett “Rainman” Hoffman, of the White House Military Office.
That location was unusual, military and public safety officials said at the time. Although live fire training is routine, it usually takes place on designated ranges within the 195-square-mile (505-square-kilometer) base north of San Diego.
The first round launched at 1:46 p.m. from M777 howitzers on a beach west of Interstate 5 toward the east, the CHP report stated. That artillery round failed to clear the roadway and detonated midflight near I-5 southbound, sending shrapnel flying toward protective service details assigned to the vice president. After that, the exercise was halted and no more munitions were fired, CalMatters reported in October.
An officer described hearing what sounded like “pebbles” falling on his CHP BMW motorcycle, and other shards struck an empty Ford patrol vehicle. The two officers who had driven the vehicle saw a 2 inch by ½-inch piece of shrapnel on the hood, which left a small dent or scratch. Photos in the incident reports show the patrol car struck by shrapnel, and an officer holding the metal shards.
In a Dec. 5 statement cited in the military report, a Marine whose name was redacted said the Secret Service wanted to close I-5 due to security concerns for a “Very Very Important Person” — the president — and its proximity to a viewing area for the demonstration. Trump ended up not attending.
Associated Press reporters Ed White in Detroit and Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, contributed to this report.
FILE - The entrance to Marine Corps base Camp Pendleton is seen on Sept. 22, 2015, in Oceanside, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)
