Ecuador Asks Colombia To Protect Border From Guerrilla Dissenters

According to official figures, there are a total of 7,000 Ecuadorian troops in the border area with Colombia.

Ecuador’s defense minister, Patricio Zambrano, asked the Colombian government to safeguard the border to prevent residual groups of the demobilized guerrilla of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) from trying to enter Ecuadorian territory.

“The conflict belongs to Colombia and can not transcend borders, and Ecuador can not take care of the borders of another country,” Zambrano said, according to statements collected by the state news agency Andes.

The Ecuadorian minister called for Colombia “to guarantee the basic services of its border population, so that they can live in peace and under the protection of their Government.”

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According to official figures, there are more Ecuadorian troops in the area: in San Lorenzo and Borbón, northwest, there are 2,000 soldiers and in total at the border the number rises to 7,000.

Zambrazo stressed that he expects Colombia also to have an armed presence in that area and that in the face of unusual situations, “the Ecuadorian Armed Forces will apply deterrence and protect sovereignty and their nationals.”

A bilateral meeting between the presidents of Ecuador, Lenin Moreno, and Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, is scheduled for the next one, which will deal with this and other issues.