Colombia, Ecuador leaders clash over bomb dropped near border

BOGOTA

An explosive device is pictured on the ground at Vereda El Amarradero, Narino department near the border with Ecuador on March 17.

The leaders of Colombia and Ecuador sparred on March 17 over allegations that the Ecuadoran bombing of suspected criminal hideouts near their shared border had spilled into Colombian territory.

Months of tension between Colombia's leftist President Gustavo Petro and his right-wing Ecuadoran counterpart, Daniel Noboa, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, spiked on March 16 when Petro alleged that an explosive was dropped from a plane near the border.

On March 17, Petro posted on X a photo of an unexploded "bomb" that he said had fallen on the Colombian-Ecuadoran frontier. He called for a thorough investigation, saying: "It fell 100 meters from the home of a poor family."

"It's a bomb that can only be, I don't want to say fired but maybe dropped without intending to fire it, from a plane," Petro said during a speech Tuesday, adding that it "was not from a small plane, much less a drone."

Experts said the munition is believed to be a "freefall bomb" that is not guided, falling by the force of gravity.

A Colombian armed forces spokesperson told AFP bomb disposal teams successfully deactivated the device March 17 night.

Noboa took to X on March 17 to retort that Ecuador is "currently bombing locations that served as hideouts" for criminal groups that are "largely Colombian, and which your government allowed to infiltrate our country due to negligence regarding your border."

"President Petro, your statements are false," Noboa said. "We are operating within our own territory, not yours."