The Grayzone’s Oscar Leon interviews Augustin Durán, an Ecuadoran investigative journalist who has had to flee his country due to his allegations that billionaire, US-allied President Daniel Noboa, the Noboa family and their inner circle are intimately involved in the international drug trade.
In this explosive documentary, Leon and Durán reveal the following:
– Ecuador, not Venezuela, is the primary departure point for cocaine shipments to the US and Europe, with President Daniel Noboa’s family businesses repeatedly linked to drug seizures.
– Multiple cocaine trafficking scandals involve Noboa-owned companies (e.g., Noboa Trading, Blasti S.A., Transmabo) and a family farm (San Luis), including shipments intercepted in Europe and 193 kg seized in 2025.
– Durán accuses Noboa of heading a “criminal economy” enabled by political decisions: defunding port security, deregulating banana exports, lacking financial oversight, and using shell companies for money laundering.
– Investigations are allegedly obstructed without thorough probes, no arrests of high-level figures, while cases are dismissed as “contamination” despite Noboa companies controlling the full supply chain.
– Ecuador’s criminal economy (drugs, illegal mining, trafficking) is estimated at a staggering 18-22% of GDP thanks to weak state oversight, dollarization, and documented ties to the Albanian mafia.
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