Ecuadorian Interior Minister John Reimberg denounced a reported plot to assassinate President Daniel Noboa, organizing through a criminal figure sheltered by guerrillas in Colombia, O GLOBO reported.
Noboa faces a direct security campaign against drug trafficking organizations with backing from the United States. The government holds intelligence regarding an operation coordinated by Celso Ovidio Zambrano Casanova, known as Loco Ovidio, an individual receiving protection from the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels in Colombia.
“We know that they want to carry out an assassination attempt against President Daniel Noboa,” Reimberg said to the Colombian broadcaster La FM.
Loco Ovidio belongs to Los Lobos, an Ecuadorian criminal faction that Washington connects to the Mexican Jalisco New Generation Cartel. The Ecuadorian government said that Noboa escaped unharmed from a reported shooting attack against a vehicle carrying him during indigenous protests in 2025.
President Noboa and his Colombian counterpart, Abelardo de la Espriella, maintain right-wing alliances with Donald Trump and agreed to combat border drug trafficking together.
Reimberg said that figures from the Citizen Revolution (RC) opposition party led by former president Rafael Correa are linked to the alleged presidential plot. The RC party faced bans from running in this year’s elections due to a money laundering investigation and cannot contest local votes scheduled for the end of November.
The interior ministry coordinates intelligence with international allies to monitor cross-border criminal networks operating alongside the ELN.
Authorities blocked the Citizen Revolution party from participating due to an ongoing money laundering investigation involving figures such as former candidate Luisa González.
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