Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has made a point of expressing his support for US President Donald Trump. Noboa was present at his inauguration and on numerous occasions has applauded Trump’s statements and praised his controversial foreign policy decisions. This should come as no surprise. Noboa, who was born in the United States, has consistently sought to be one of Washington’s closest allies since the beginning of his administration: he has already conceded a portion of territorial sovereignty by expediting the deployment of US military equipment and personnel in Galapagos. He has also declared his desire for the United States to reestablish military bases in the country.
But this time is different. Noboa, of the National Democratic Action (ADN) party, is in the middle of an electoral campaign. In the first round, the right-wing president obtained 44.17% of the valid votes – virtually tied with Luisa Gonzalez, the candidate of Correísmo, who received 44%. Thus, Noboa knows that a small number of votes will determine the next President of the Republic.
That’s why he has decided to base his campaign strategy on:
- Directly attacking Correísmo
- Distributing bonds to thousands of people
- Leveraging an alleged close relationship with right-wing leaders of the region such as Milei, Bukele, and Trump
Noboa has been heavily criticized for using state resources for his electoral campaign, a violation of Ecuadorian law.
Informal meeting at Mar-a-Lago
President – and candidate – Noboa declared what he considered a major victory, announcing that he would meet with Trump at his Miami mansion. The photo showing Noboa with his wife (one of the most visible faces of the ADN campaign) next to President Trump has been reposted thousands of times on social media by Noboa supporters. The meeting was framed as a diplomatic achievement that demonstrates United States support for his candidacy and an apparent personal closeness between the two presidents.
In an interview on Radio Sucesos, Noboa referred to the meeting with Trump: “We had a positive conversation, which you don’t have with just anyone. It was an informal conversation that [Trump] asked me to keep private, not to give details of what we talked about… We talked about migration issues. He asked me what I thought about the case of Venezuela, and I told him that I thought what he was doing was good.” Additionally, according to Noboa, Trump will consider whether to designate Ecuador’s most prominent gangs as terrorist organizations, at the request of the Ecuadorian Executive, which could have significant implications for Ecuadorian sovereignty.
However, many have questioned whether the meeting benefited Ecuador’s interests. Radio Sucesos journalists asked Noboa directly about this matter, to which the president said, “Not every conversation implies a transaction,” implying that no concrete agreement was reached. Noboa also did not detail how long he met with Trump.
Did Noboa pay to talk to Trump?
Both the president and his mother (currently elected Assemblywoman for ADN) have confirmed that the meeting was not an official meeting nor was it framed as an official visit, raising questions about whether the closeness between the two presidents, which Noboa often boasts about, actually exists.
According to former presidential candidate Andrés Aráuz, the alleged meeting was nothing more than an informal greeting between the presidents: “The dinner was with the former candidate and now Minister of Health RFK Jr. in the restaurant of the Mar-a-Lago Resort. There are photos of that. Trump only passed by waving, quickly. That is why it did not appear in President Trump’s agenda on Saturday, 29.”
In addition, several media outlets have reported that Noboa’s government paid a lobbying firm to arrange a state visit for Noboa to the United States. Primicias reported that the Embassy of Ecuador in the United States hired the consulting firm Mercury Public Affairs to discuss the migratory situation of hundreds of Ecuadorians who are being deported every week from the United States.
According to information provided by the Ecuadorian Embassy in the United States, USD 165,000 was invested to secure the desired official meeting, drawing significant criticism from the opposition, who argue that such an enormous expense is unjustifiable amid an economic crisis. Additionally, many have argued that spending resources during an electoral campaign is unethical and could even be punishable, given that public funds are being used to arrange a meeting between the two presidents, which the ADN campaign is leveraging as a propaganda tool.
As reported by The Guardian, it is possible to pay a million dollar sum of money to dine at Mar-a-Lago and even interact with Donald Trump: “Business leaders can secure a one-on-one meeting with the president at Mar-a-Lago for the price of USD 5 million, sources told Wired. At what is called a candlelight dinner held last Saturday, potential guests at the Florida estate were asked to spend USD 1 million to reserve a seat, according to an invitation obtained by Wired.”
Several Ecuadorian politicians have said that Noboa may have paid USD 1 million to meet with Trump, although this information has not been confirmed.
The reality is that Noboa has used an unofficial visit as part of his electoral campaign strategy. Meanwhile, the state has reportedly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to bring the two leaders closer, despite failing to justify such an expense – all while hundreds of Ecuadorians continue to be deported from the United States without any response from the Ecuadorian government.
For now, it remains to be seen whether an informal visit to a Florida mansion will help Noboa gain votes ahead of the April 13 elections. What is certain is that, as shown, Noboa will continue staging publicity stunts – like the meeting with Trump – to turn his campaign into a spectacle that he hopes will attract attention and, ultimately, votes.
