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

Through a statement that was reviewed by the AFP agency, Rosselkhoznadzorthe Russian veterinary and phytosanitary surveillance service, reported that Russia has 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 in Russia come from Ecuador.

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

“We export to the whole world and the phytosanitary protocols are super demanding (…) We were surprised by the drastic nature of the sanction,” he told the AP agency. Richard Salazarexecutive director of the 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 said 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 is very important, there is no market that meets that demand,” Salazar told the AP.

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

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

What weapons did Ecuador deliver to the United States?

President Noboa approached USA after last January 9 he declared that in Ecuador there is an internal armed conflict and order the Army to restore order in the streets of the country.

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

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

But in Russiathe spokesperson 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 purposes announced and do not transfer them to third parties without obtaining the 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 its exchange for modern equipment, certainly for a fairly high amount. Let’s hope that Quito understands it that way,” he said. Zakharova.

But what weapons of Soviet origin does Ecuador have?

According to the portal Infodefense, Ecuador could deliver to USA six helicopters of the Russian Helicopters Mil-Mi-171 and 17-1V type, 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 of 23×152 millimeters.

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, as well as six MAPO 9M33 OSA-AKM systems. Their status is unknown and whether they are included in the exchange agreement is unknown, he indicated. Infodefense.

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

It should be noted that Ukraine became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991, so the European country operates a lot of weapons similar or equal to that of 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 various 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 Volodymyr Zelensky. In exchange, these nations will receive more modern material from American manufacturing.

The first deliveries from the United States

On January 23rd he arrived at Ecuador the first batch of American aid to fight 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 security 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 and the United States Department of Homeland Security is mobilizing personnel to support the training of police and prosecutors in the area of ​​digital forensics and other analyzes that are critical to the fight against crime. organized crime.

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