U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa in Florida on Saturday, according to a White House official. This meeting comes just ahead of a closely contested runoff election on April 13, where Noboa will face off against leftist candidate Luisa Gonzalez.
At 37 years old, Noboa was elected in 2023 to complete the term of his predecessor, focusing on efforts to tackle drug gangs that have disrupted the previously stable South American nation.
Trump has prioritized the fight against fentanyl, which is linked to approximately 70,000 deaths annually in the United States, as a central theme of his second presidential term, advocating for tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China.
Details regarding the meeting have not been disclosed by White House officials, nor is it clear if Trump and Noboa will address the media. Trump arrived at his golf club in West Palm Beach on Saturday morning, and it remains uncertain whether Noboa will join him there.
Ecuadorean officials have indicated to Trump’s allies their interest in establishing a U.S. military base in Ecuador and have shown a desire for a bilateral free trade agreement similar to those existing with Colombia and Peru, as reported by Reuters this month.
As the son of one of Ecuador’s wealthiest businessmen, Noboa has declared states of emergency to deploy military forces in urban areas and prisons, enacted stricter sentencing laws, and celebrated the capture of major gang leaders, claiming these measures led to a 15% reduction in violent deaths last year.
Noboa has stated that Ecuador will not accept deported migrants from other countries but will always welcome its own citizens. He has also criticized the president of Venezuela for briefly refusing flights carrying Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States.
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Additionally, Noboa has formed a “strategic alliance” with Erik Prince, a notable Trump supporter and founder of the controversial private military company Blackwater, to combat crime and narcoterrorism in the nation of 17 million.
Noboa has openly advocated for the establishment of foreign military bases in Ecuador. The Ecuadorian legislature is currently in the preliminary phases of a legislative initiative that may lift a constitutional prohibition on these bases, which was enacted in 2008 with the backing of former leftist President Rafael Correa.
During World War II, the U.S. operated a military base on the environmentally delicate Galapagos Islands, as well as another base on the mainland primarily focused on counter-narcotics efforts, which remained active until 2009.
