Tension between Ecuador and Russia over the delivery of Soviet-era weapons to the United States

On January 10th, the president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboaconfirmed that his country has accepted the offer of U.S exchange old Soviet military equipment for new generation American weapons worth an estimated 200 million dollars. Washington said that the final destination of the weapons exchanged with Quito will be Ukrainea country that is at war with Russia. This Tuesday, Moscow already announced the first retaliations against the South American country.

Through a statement that was analyzed by the AFP agency, Rosselkhoznadzorthe Russian veterinary and phytosanitary surveillance service, reported that Russia banned the import of bananas from Ecuador.

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The organization assured that the reason is the detection of a devastating insect in the fruit.

Russian media reported that nine out of ten bananas imported into Russia come from Ecuador.

Workers at the Mateo banana plantation during a normal work day in Chobo, Ecuador, on January 13, 2016. (Photo by RODRIGO BUENDIA / AFP). (RODRIGO BUENDIA/)

The Ecuadorian portal Primicias said that the affected Ecuadorian exporters are Agzulasa, Don Carlos Fruit, Agroaerero Fruit Export, Agricultural Production Association of El Oro (Asoproagroro) and Comersur, that is, five out of every twenty companies.

“We export all over the world and the phytosanitary protocols are super demanding (…) We were surprised by the drastic nature of the sanction”, he told the AP agency. Ricardo Salazarexecutive director of Banana Marketing and Export Association from Ecuador.

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The same union reported that in 2023 Russia was the first buyer of Ecuadorian fruit with 72 million boxes of banana.

While the Ecuadorian portal Primicias stated that between January and November 2023, Ecuador exported bananas to Russia for 689 million dollars. This represents 82% of the total value of exports of Ecuador to Russia.

“It’s very important, there is no market that can meet this demand,” Salazar told the AP.

But it is not the only retaliation. Rosselkhoznadzor He also said that from February 9 The entry of carnations from Ecuador will be prohibiteddue to the detection of a pest.

He The organization asked the Netherlands, Germany, Latvia and Lithuania to also prevent the entry of Ecuadorian carnations. since February 9th.

The OSA AKM System of Ecuador.

The president Noboa approached U.S after last January 9th he declared that in Ecuador there is an internal armed conflict and ask the Army to restore order to the country’s streets.

When he confirmed the delivery of weapons to the United States, Noboa He said these were scrap.

“We verified that it is scrap and, within international agreements, war material cannot be transported, but scrap of this type can be transported”, said Noboa in a television interview where He assured that Ecuador will not cut relations with Russia.

President Daniel Noboa participates in a ceremony to hand over equipment to the National Police of Ecuador on January 22, 2024. (AFP). (FLYER/)

More in Russiaspokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharovaresponded to Noboa and described the decision as “thoughtless”.

“Our partners are fully aware of the provisions stipulated in the contracts, including the commitment to use the goods they acquire for the announced purposes and do not transfer them to third parties without obtaining corresponding permission from the Russian side“, he stated Zakharova.

“If it were scrap metal, as they call it in Ecuador, it would be difficult for Washington to propose exchanging it for modern equipment, certainly at a very high price. Let’s hope that Quito understands this way”, he indicated. Zakharova.

But what weapons of Soviet origin does Ecuador have?

According to the Infodefensa portal, Ecuador could deliver to U.S six helicopters of the Russian type Mil-Mi-171 and 17-1V helicopters, six Rostec (Splav) BM-21 multiple launch rocket systems, six Excalibur Army Spol RM-70, as well as 34 KBP short-range air defense systems ZU -23-2 measuring 23×152 mm.

Ecuador It also has portable air defense systems (manpads) of various types, such as KBM 9K38 Igla, 9K310 Igla-1E, 9K32 Strela-2 and 9K310E Igla-1E, in addition to six MAPO 9M33 OSA-AKM systems. Their status is unknown and it is not known whether they are included in the exchange agreement, he said. Infodefense.

Ecuador will also deliver to U.S 10,000 Chinese Norinco Type-56 7.62×39 mm rifles, ammunition, grenades, mortars and helmets, the latter donated by China but that the Armed Forces Ecuador They never used it.

It should be noted that Ukraine became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991, so the European country operates a large number of weapons similar or equal to Russia, such as T-80 tanks, Su-27 fighter-bombers, BMP-1 and BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles, among others. Many of these weapons were also sold at the time to countries in different regions of the world, including Latin America.

As part of the military aid it provides to Ukrainethe United States is exchanging weapons of Soviet origin with its allies to send them to the country governed by Volodimir Zelensky. In return, these nations will receive more modern materials from American industry.

View of equipment donated by the United States to the Armed Forces of Ecuador during a ceremony at the Huancavilca military fort, in Guayaquil, on January 25, 2024. (Photo by Gerardo MENOSCAL / AFP). (GERARDO MENOSCAL/)

On January 23rd he arrived at Ecuador the first batch of American aid to combat violence and organized crime.

The White House said that The United States delivered more than 20,000 bulletproof vests to the police and more than $1 million in critical safety and emergency response equipment, including ambulances and defense logistics support vehicles.

Furthermore, it was reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will increase its staff by Ecuador it’s him United States Department of Homeland Security is mobilizing personnel to support the training of police officers and prosecutors in the area of ​​digital forensics and other analyzes critical to fighting crime. organized crime.

The head of the United States Southern Command, Laura Richardson, presents a decoration to an Ecuadorian soldier during his visit to the military fort of Huancavilca, in Guayaquil, on January 25, 2024. (Photo by Gerardo MENOSCAL/AFP). (GERARDO MENOSCAL/)

In turn, the head of the United States Southern Command, Laura Richardson, visited Ecuador in January and established the Security Assistance Roadmap for Ecuador.

Source: Elcomercio