Colombian authorities said Saturday that Ecuador had deported about 600 Colombian prisoners via a land border crossing, after Bogota protested the action came without prior agreement.

In 2024, Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa announced his intention to deport Colombian inmates to ease overcrowding in the country's prisons. Small groups were transferred starting in April.

But Colombian President Gustavo Petro opposed the move, saying that a joint plan was needed to safeguard the prisoners' rights.

"In the morning, 603 people arrived, 60 women and 543 men, and we completed the reception of them" at the Rumichaca border crossing in Carchi province, Colombia's acting foreign minister Rosa Villavicencio said.

Authorities on both sides of the border had previously reported conflicting figure

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