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Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa has claimed that someone tried to poison him with chocolate and jam allegedly laced with toxic substances, which were handed to him during a public event.
Speaking to CNN on Thursday, Noboa said tests revealed the presence of three “highly concentrated” chemical compounds in the sweets, insisting the contamination “could not have been accidental.”
He noted that his team had obtained evidence supporting the claim and ruled out the possibility that the toxins originated from the packaging or the products themselves.
According to Noboa, Ecuador’s military body in charge of presidential security has filed a formal complaint with prosecutors.
This marks the second time his administration has reported an alleged assassination attempt in recent months, amid a backdrop of nationwide protests and escalating violence.
Earlier in October, Noboa’s government claimed that his motorcade came under attack from stone-throwing demonstrators, with officials later saying the president’s vehicle bore bullet marks.
Defence Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo described the incident as an “assassination attempt,” though no bullet casings or other physical evidence were recovered at the scene. Noboa was unharmed.
The protests have been led by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie), which has organised widespread roadblocks, including in the Pichincha province surrounding the capital, Quito.
The demonstrations, ongoing since late September, are in response to rising fuel prices and broader discontent with the government’s policies.
Some political analysts have questioned Noboa’s repeated claims of attacks, suggesting they could be aimed at portraying the demonstrators as violent to strengthen his political position.
Rejecting this notion, Noboa said, “No one throws a Molotov cocktail at themselves, or poisons themselves with chocolate, or throws stones at themselves.”
The president is preparing for a November 16 referendum, which he hopes will give him a mandate to introduce constitutional reforms toughening penalties for drug-related crimes.
Once considered one of Latin America’s safest nations, Ecuador has in recent years become a major cocaine transit hub between Colombia and Peru, fuelling a surge in organised crime.
The country is now grappling with record-high murder rates, car bombings, targeted assassinations, and deadly prison riots.
