Around 600 people and thirty trucks from the Colombian city of Ipiales, on the border with Ecuador, blocked the only open border crossing between the two countries for about three hours on Monday to protest the trade war between the two states, which has led to a tariff escalation of up to 50%. The march, called by the Border Workers' Guild Committee, departed from various points in Ipiales to converge on the Rumichaca international bridge, the main border point between Colombia and Ecuador and currently the only one legally open for transit between the two countries. Protesters chanted slogans against the reciprocal tariffs imposed by the two countries and called on both governments to return to the negotiating table after Ecuador, which initiated this commercial conflict, also broke off talks. Óscar Obando, president of the Border Workers' Guild Committee, explained to EFE that the impact began on February 1st when Ecuador imposed the first tariffs and has worsened as Colombia retaliated and the conflict escalated. 'In companies, we have had to lay people off. It's a measure that not only affects transportation but many sectors of the logistics chain,' detailed Tovar. Ecuadorians affected by the decrease in cargo transport at this point also participated in the protest. The vehicles were parked on the sides of the road in a vigil, with the prospect of blocking the bridge again if the tariffs are not revoked. Last week, there was also a caravan of trucks from the city of Tulcán, on the Ecuadorian side of the border, where transporters also expressed their discontent. The trade war was initiated by Ecuador's right-wing president, Daniel Noboa, to demand a greater commitment from Colombia in border control and to reduce the amount of cocaine that drug cartels carry to Ecuador as a stopover to North America and Europe, which has unleashed an unprecedented criminal violence crisis in the Andean country. In turn, Colombia suspended the electricity supply to Ecuador, which is key to meeting its national demand at certain times, to which Quito responded by increasing the transport cost of oil from Colombia's state-owned Ecopetrol through the state-owned Ecuadorian oil company Petroecuador's pipelines from $3 to $30 per barrel. Colombia and Ecuador have traditionally been two solid trading partners with an exchange that has hovered around $2.8 billion in recent years, with a negative balance for Ecuador of around $900 million. 'Calling for dialogue and repeal, two such simple words that encompass so much,' he added. In turn, the executive director of the Colombian Truckers Association (ACC), Héctor Tovar, insisted on 'that tariffs be repealed, it is the only request we make to both governments.' It is about 100 to 140 tractor-trailers that pass daily and that are currently stalled.