Ecuador leader says Israel will provide intelligence to help country’s war on cartels

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa tells AFP he has sought assistance from Israel and the United Arab Emirates to combat the drug cartels that are terrorizing the South American country.

In an interview in Paris, the iron-fisted 37-year-old who won reelection last month says Israel and the UAE have agreed to provide intelligence “to help” fight cocaine traffickers.

Once-peaceful Ecuador averaged a killing every hour at the start of the year, as cartels battle for control over cocaine routes that pass through the nation’s ports.

During presidential campaigning, Noboa suggested US special forces should be deployed to Ecuador to tackle the violence, and floated legal reforms to allow US bases to reopen.

Over the past week, he traveled to Italy, Spain, Britain and France — some of the European countries experiencing rocketing cocaine consumption — to develop further security alliances, as well as Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

He says he spoke to Israeli and Emirati leaders about “cooperation on security at ports and borders… since the violence is there, in the areas or on the routes to the ports.”

But Noboa admits “there is not much interest so far” from foreign powers in establishing military bases in the Andean country.