Ecuador has ramped up efforts to combat drug cartels, intensified by U.S. support, causing escalating tensions with neighbor Colombia. The situation reached a critical point after Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced the discovery of 27 bodies at the border, attributed not to armed groups or Colombian defense forces, which he claimed had not received any orders for such actions. He pointed out that the bombings occurred in areas inhabited by farmers transitioning from coca cultivation to legal farming, emphasizing his disapproval of the attacks which might have been executed by Ecuadorian forces.

In response to these accusations, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa firmly refuted Petro's claims, stating that Ecuador was carrying out operations on its own territory to counter drug terrorism. He asserted that Ecuador had been fighting against groups that had turned areas used for sheltering narcoterrorists in the country into bombing targets. Noboa confirmed that many of these groups had Colombian ties, reinforcing his country's commitment to purging and reconstructing Ecuador against these threats.

Ecuador's crackdown on drug cartels has seen the deployment of around 75,000 police and military personnel across four provinces marked by severe violence, along with strict curfews to restore order. This conflict is compounded by economic tensions, as Ecuador accuses Colombia of insufficient measures to curtail cartel activities along their shared border, leading to a negative impact on trade relations between the two nations.