QUITO, Ecuador – Colombian rebels in northern Ecuador are an old problem that previous governments failed to confront, Ecuador's defense minister told The Associated Press, announcing additions to a growing arsenal aimed at securing the Andean nation's borders.
Defense Minister Javier Ponce said in an interview that the government is buying six Israeli-made unmanned aerial vehicles and new radar so it can get a better handle on its borders, especially the troubled frontier with Colombia.
The acquisitions are in addition to 24 Super Tucano warplanes announced in May.
Ponce said he does not consider Colombia a national security threat, though the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, which dominates the northern border zone and the illegal drug trade that fuels its insurgency, is a danger.
“We are not able to impede the establishment of guerrilla camps or drug labs, but to the degree that we have been dismantling a series of labs and camps, we are establishing a certain capacity to prevent this from getting out of control,” Ponce told the AP on Tuesday evening.
