Colombia ties remain intact

Ecuador will not break diplomatic relations with Colombia despite mounting tensions over that nation’s refusal to halt U.S.-backed aerial fumigation of coca crops along the shared border, Foreign Minister Francisco Carrion said.

President Alfredo Palacio recalled Ecuador’s ambassador for consultation after Colombia resumed the spraying to within 330 feet of the border. Ecuador is demanding Colombia respect a 6-mile buffer zone established in January, arguing the herbicide glyphosate drifts across the border, killing legal crops and causing health problems.