An OCCRP investigation reports that Balkan traffickers used containers from Noboa Corp., a banana-export business linked to President Daniel Noboa’s family, to smuggle cocaine, including a reported 950 lb shipment. The findings complicate Noboa’s appeal for US backing in his declared “war” on narco-terrorism, after Washington briefly deployed troops to Ecuador. A former foreign minister says Ecuadorians reject the idea that permanent US bases would solve gang violence.
OCCRP Probe Links Ecuador President’s Family Banana Business to Cocaine Shipments
An investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) says drug traffickers used containers from the banana-export business linked to Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa to conceal cocaine shipments.
Details of the OCCRP Findings
According to the OCCRP report, intercepted chats among Balkan organised-crime networks include claims that they had exclusive access to shipping containers from Noboa Corp., a company connected to the president's family. One message cited a cocaine consignment weighing about 950 lb (roughly 430 kg).
These revelations come as President Noboa has publicly urged the United States and other partners to support his declared "war" on so-called "narco-terrorists." The report does not allege direct involvement by the president himself, but the links to a family business are politically sensitive and raise serious questions about supply-chain security and oversight.
Washington briefly deployed troops to Ecuador last week to assist in counter-narcotics and security efforts, a move that drew attention because Ecuadorians recently rejected proposals to host permanent foreign military bases.
"Ecuadorians aren't swayed by the simplistic narrative that a permanent US military presence in their country would end gang violence," a former Ecuadorian foreign minister told Project Syndicate, reflecting broad public skepticism about foreign bases as a solution.
The OCCRP findings are based on intercepted communications reported by investigators. Authorities in Ecuador and abroad may follow up as part of ongoing inquiries. The revelations highlight the challenges governments face in policing complex global supply chains and the political fallout when alleged smuggling routes are linked to prominent business interests.
