Bananas, cocaine and power: A scandal shadows Ecuador’s president

A fresh investigation by the the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), a US-based non-governmental organisation fostering investigative journalism, has cast an uncomfortable shadow over Ecuador’s war on organised crime, linking cocaine shipments to banana export containers tied to a business owned by the family of President Daniel Noboa.

The findings risk complicating the president’s tough-on-crime narrative at a moment when his government is seeking stronger international backing to tackle drug violence.

The revelations do not accuse the president directly, but they raise troubling questions about how deeply drug traffickers have penetrated Ecuador’s export economy.

Banana containers in the crosshairs

According to investigative findings, drug trafficking networks used banana export containers connected to the Noboa family business to move cocaine abroad.

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Bananas are Ecuador’s top export, and containers carrying the fruit are a common cover for smuggling drugs to Europe and other markets.

Authorities believe traffickers exploited the scale and frequency of banana shipments to conceal cocaine loads, blending illegal cargo into legitimate trade flows.

Balkan gangs boast of ‘exclusive access’

Intercepted communications paint an even starker picture. Chat messages obtained by investigators show Balkan criminal groups boasting about having exclusive access to specific banana containers. In one exchange, traffickers referred to a single shipment carrying around 950 pounds of cocaine.

Such messages suggest a level of confidence, and coordination, that has alarmed security officials familiar with Ecuador’s drug routes.

What happens to the narrative now?

The disclosures come at a sensitive time for President Noboa, who has built his political identity around a hardline security crackdown on gangs. Since taking office, he has pushed emergency measures, expanded military deployments, and presented himself as a leader willing to confront organised crime head-on.

The suggestion that traffickers may have exploited supply chains linked to his own family business risks undermining that message, even as investigations continue.

Noboa has repeatedly called for stronger US support in Ecuador’s fight against drug cartels, framing the crisis as a transnational security threat. However, the political backdrop is complicated. Ecuador recently voted against allowing permanent foreign military bases on its soil, limiting how far security cooperation can go.

As violence tied to drug trafficking continues to grip the country, the latest revelations add a layer of political pressure to an already fraught battle. For Noboa, the challenge now is not just crushing criminal networks, but convincing the masses that the fight starts at home.