QUITO, June 11 — What’s in a name? A victory foretold or a homage to greatness past?

Across South America, a legion of pint-sized Kylians and Neymars will be following the fortunes of the stars to whom they owe their names when the World Cup kicks off today. 

But in a year’s time, depending on which players shine, expectant parents may be leaning towards Lamine (Yamal, Spain), Ousmane (Dembele, France), Harry (Kane, England) or Vitinha (Portugal).

In Ecuador, which is taking part in its fifth World Cup, the most popular footballers’ names are not those of local stars such as Kendry Paez or Willian Pacho, a two-time Champions League winner with Paris Saint-Germain.

Instead it is Brazil’s all-time record scorer Neymar, playing at his fourth and probably last World Cup, who tops the board, with 3,847 namesakes, the country’s civil registry said yesterday. 

Kylian Mbappe, the wunderkind who led France to victory at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, is second, with over 2,800 children bearing his name, ahead of James (Rodriguez, Colombia’s captain), in third with 2,136 nods.

Argentine and Portuguese greats Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo also have (their first and last) names writ large in Ecuadoran family history.

The country boasts 1,549 little Lionels, 38 Messis, 178 Cristianos and 1,006 Ronaldos.

In Colombia, the order is reversed, with 836 children named Kylian or Mbappe, ahead of 269 Neymars and 220 Cristianos or Ronaldos, figures from 2022 show.

Neymar unsurprisingly, has also inspired a generation of parents in his homeland, with 2,443 children named after the player who has been an integral part of three World Cup campaigns, according to a 2022 census.

But five-time champions Brazil also have a soft spot for Kylian or Killian, with over 400 bearing his name.

In football-mad Argentina, Lionel had a major moment in 2023, the year after Messi cemented his legacy by leading his country to its third title, but the name has since dipped in popularity.

In Chile, one family made national headlines in the run-up to the 2022 World Cup when it welcomed a newborn named Griezmann Mbappe, after France’s former striker and current star forward respectively.

The young Griezmann found himself in illustrious company: his brother was called James Modric (a mash-up of James Rodriguez and Luka Modric) while his cousins included an Andres Iniesta (legendary former Spain midfielder), a Leonel Messi and a Neymar Ronaldo. — AFP

Medellín, Colombia – Ecuador’s Foreign Minister announced on Wednesday morning that Ecuador’s ambassador to Colombia, Arturo Felix Wong, has been recalled.

The move follows comments made by Colombian President Gustavo Petro regarding Ecuador’s jailed former Vice President, Jorge Glas, who he called a “political prisoner” and said was not being given sufficient food. 

The spat is the latest in a series of diplomatic rows between the two neighbors this year, which have included tit-for-tat tariffs and accusations about border security.

Gabriela Sommerfield, Ecuador’s Foreign Minister, justified the withdrawal of the Ecuadorean ambassador from Colombia as “a protest towards Colombia over the terms used by Petro and the interference in decisions made by different branches of the Ecuadorean State” in an interview with Centro Digital Radio.

The announcement followed several inflammatory statements about Glas by Petro in recent days. On Monday, the President said, “it is undeniable that Jorge Glas is a political prisoner.” 

Glas has faced several convictions for corruption-related charges but his supporters, including Petro, accuse Ecuador’s right-wing government of persecuting him for being associated with the progressive Citizen Revolution Movement. 

“Letting someone die of hunger, while under the care of the government, is a crime against humanity,” said Petro on Tuesday. 

Glas is currently serving an eight-year sentence for bribery and criminal association, and a thirteen-year sentence for embezzlement in the maximum-security El Encuentro prison, which is modelled on Salvadorean president Nayib Bukele’s infamous prison system.

He was first convicted in 2017 for his involvement in the Odebrecht case, one of the largest corruption cases in recent Latin American history, after it was revealed that he had received millions of dollars in bribes from the Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht.

He has since received further sentences and was released temporarily in 2022 but re-imprisoned shortly after. Later that year, he was released again, and sought asylum in the Mexican embassy, claiming political persecution. But two years ago, he was arrested in a controversial police raid of the Mexican embassy in Quito, leading to the severing of diplomatic ties between the two countries. 

Now, Ecuador also faces chilly relations with neighboring Colombia; on February 1st, Quito imposed a tariff of 30% on Bogotá, which it increased to 50% in March. President Daniel Noboa said that the levy was a response to Colombia failing to cooperate in the fight against narcotrafficking.

Colombia responded with tariffs of 30% on 73 types of products coming from Ecuador, including rice and sugar, which later increased to 50% for more than 185 products.

A further dispute emerged last month when Petro accused Ecuador of bombing across the two countries’ joint border.

After recalling Ecuador’s Ambassador to Colombia on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Sommerfield announced that meetings to address the ongoing trade war between the two countries would be suspended.

Featured image description: President Gustavo Petro at a cabinet meeting, October 22, 2025.

Featured image credit: @InfoPresidencia via X.

The post Ecuador-Colombia relations dive as Quito recalls ambassador over Petro comments appeared first on Latin America Reports.

Bogotá, Colombia – Ecuador will impose a 100% tariff on all Colombian imports beginning on May 1, according to a statement by the Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, and Investment today.

The move ramps up tensions between the two South American neighbors, which have imposed reciprocal levies of 50% in a trade war that began in January when Ecuador announced it would charge Colombia a “security fee”.

“This measure is based on national security criteria and seeks to reinforce shared responsibility in a task that must be undertaken jointly to address the presence of drug trafficking at the border,” read a statement by the trade ministry on Thursday announcing the tariff hike.

Bogotá and Quito have clashed over border security issues in recent months, with Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa accusing his counterpart of failing to deter criminal groups operating in the region.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has defended his administration’s security record and imposed reciprocal levies against Ecuador.

The two countries were due to hold talks next week to resolve the trade war but these were cancelled yesterday amid a dispute over former Ecuadorean Vice President Jorge Glas. Quito recalled its Ambassador from Bogotá after Petro suggested Glas was a political prisoner and had not been treated humanely in jail.

The tariffs threaten economic shocks on both sides of the border; Ecuador imports medicine, sugar, vehicles and coffee from Colombia and exports wood panels, canned fish, frozen seafood, palm oil, and rice.

Featured image description: Colombia-Ecuador border photographed in 2020.

Featured image credit: Burkhard Mücke via Wikimedia Commons

The post Ecuador doubles tariff on Colombia to 100% appeared first on Latin America Reports.

The first time U.S. soccer legend Tab Ramos played on a team in the country he had just moved to from Uruguay, Argentina was the reigning champion of the 1978 World Cup and the boy was thrilled that the jersey he was given, the Harrison Rec kit, was orange “like the Dutch one.” Ten minutes in, the coach took him off the field: he was too good to compete with that group. He was 12 years old.

Seguir leyendo

One day in April, Diana Mogollón arrived at a place of which she knew almost nothing. She felt frustrated, sad, and did not want anyone to come near her to talk. At that point she was the newcomer among all the detained migrant women, until at night she saw a young woman come in, looking very young and quiet, with a protruding belly that her clothes could not hide. “She came in and sat to one side; the room was very full.” There were about 70 women inside, sleeping on mats with barely any space, under unsettling lights that stayed on 24 hours a day. Mogollón felt sorry for the young woman. “I told her: girl, if you want, sit on this side because they won’t trample you there.” They began to get to know each other, to tell each other their lives.

Seguir leyendo

Medellín, Colombia – President Gustavo Petro has accused Ecuador of dropping bombs on Colombian territory, adding that 27 “charred bodies” were discovered near their shared border.

“We’re going to thoroughly investigate the circumstances—it happened very close to the border with Ecuador—which somewhat confirms my suspicion, but we need to investigate thoroughly: they’re bombing us from Ecuador, and it’s not the armed groups,” said Petro in a cabinet meeting on Monday evening. 

The accusation marks an escalation in recent tensions between the two neighbors, with president Daniel Noboa swiftly denouncing the claims as false, insisting that his country’s anti-drug operations only hit targets within Ecuador. 

In response to Petro’s claims, Noboa said on Tuesday that “with international cooperation, we continue the fight by bombing the hideouts used by these groups, who are mainly Colombians whom their own government allowed to infiltrate our country due to lax border controls.”

But Petro doubled down on his accusations, claiming that “there are 27 charred bodies and the explanation is not credible” the president said via X this Tuesday. 

Pedro Sánchez, Colombian Minister of Defense, announced that Colombian forces have been deployed to the border to investigate the matter and carry out a controlled destruction of an alleged Ecuadoran bomb. 

Earlier this month, the United States and Ecuador announced a joint military campaign to target criminal groups active in the South American country. Last Sunday, Ecuador began a 15-day joint operation with the U.S., deploying thousands of military and police officers throughout the provinces worst-affected by crime and declaring a nighttime curfew.

Noboa has repeatedly accused Bogotá of failing to address transnational organized crime and police its side of the border.

In February, Ecuador slapped 30% tariffs on Colombia which it labeled a “security fee”. Since then, the tit-for-tat dispute has seen mutual import levies reach 50%, drawing criticism from business owners and workers on both sides of the border. 

Despite this, at the start of this month the neighbors joined forces to combat crime on their 600km border. Noboa, an ally of president Trump, also agreed to collaborate with U.S. forces in military operations against organized crime groups in March. 

Noboa was also one of the 17 leaders from across Latin America and the Caribbean invited to join Trump’s ‘Shield of the Americas’ last week. The alliance, from which Colombia was excluded, promises to use full military force against drug traffickers. Last week, the FBI also opened its first office in Ecuador. 

Featured image credit: Colombian President’s Office.

The post Petro accuses Ecuador of bombing Colombia during anti-crime operations appeared first on Latin America Reports.