QUITO: Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa said Thursday that an unknown assailant had attempted to poison him with chocolate and a jam laced with chemicals, gifted to him at a public event.
Noboa told CNN the presence of three “highly concentrated” toxic substances in the sweets “could not have been accidental,” saying his team had proof to back up his claims.
The 37-year-old president said the toxic substances could not have come from the products themselves or their packaging.
The military body responsible for his security detail had filed a complaint with prosecutors.
It is the second time that Noboa’s administration has alleged an attempt on his life, amid Indigenous anti-government protests and spiralling crime.
Earlier this month, the government said that Noboa’s vehicle bore bullet marks after his motorcade was set upon by a group of stone-throwing protesters angry about rising fuel prices.
Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo called it an “assassination attempt.”
No evidence was presented from the scene, such as bullet casings. Noboa emerged unscathed.
The country’s largest organization of Indigenous peoples, called Conaie, have blocked roads — including in the capital’s Pichincha province — since September 22 over mounting fuel costs.
Some experts have suggested that Noboa’s allegations about attempts on his life could be a way to portray the protesters as violent to boost his political fortune.
“No one throws a Molotov cocktail at themselves...or poisons themselves with chocolate, or throws stones at themselves,” Noboa said.
The president is preparing for a November 16 referendum which he hopes will pave the way for him to draft a constitution that is tougher on drug-related crime.
Ecuador, once one of Latin America’s safest countries, has become a key cocaine transit hub between top producers Colombia and Peru, and consumers around the world.
Murder rates have soared, while car bombings, assassinations and prison massacres have become routine.
Ecuador’s president says he was target of attempted poisoning
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Ecuador’s president says he was target of attempted poisoning
- It is the second time that Noboa’s administration has alleged an attempt on his life, amid Indigenous anti-government protests and spiralling crime
- Earlier this month, the government said that Noboa’s vehicle bore bullet marks after his motorcade was set upon by a group of stone-throwing protesters angry about rising fuel prices
Dozens missing after boat carrying more than 200 migrants capsized off the coast of Gambia
- At least 102 survivors have been rescued and seven bodies recovered from the boat that capsized on New Year’s Eve in northwest Gambia’s North Bank region
BANJUL: Dozens are missing after a boat carrying more than 200 migrants on their way to Europe capsized off the coast of Gambia, the West African nation’s leader said late Friday, setting off a frantic search and rescue operation.
At least 102 survivors have been rescued and seven bodies recovered from the boat that capsized on New Year’s Eve in northwest Gambia’s North Bank region, Gambian President Adama Barrow said in a state broadcast.
The emergency services were joined by local fishermen and other volunteers in searching for the victims, days after Wednesday’s incident near the village of Jinack, he said.
Thousands of Africans desperate for better opportunities in Europe risk their lives traveling on boats along the Atlantic coast, one of the world’s deadliest migrant routes that connects the West African coast across Gambia, Senegal and Mauritania.
Many migrants seeking to reach Spain via the Canary Islands never make it due to high risks of boats capsizing. In August 2025, around 150 people were either dead or missing after their boat that came from Gambia capsized off the coast of Mauritania. A similar incident in July 2024 killed more than a dozen migrants with 150 others declared missing.
It was not clear what led to the latest tragedy. Gambia’s Ministry of Defense said the boat was found “grounded on a sandbank.”
“The national emergency response plan has been activated and the government has deployed adequate resources to intensify efforts and provide assistance to the survivors,” Barrow said.
Some of the 102 survivors were undergoing urgent medical care, the Gambian leader said.
As he condoled with families, Barrow vowed a full investigation and called the accident a “painful reminder of the dangerous and life-threatening nature of irregular migration.”
“The government will strengthen efforts to prevent irregular migration and remains determined to create safer and more dignified opportunities for young people to fulfil their dreams,” he added.
