Ecuadoran President Guillermo Lasso on Friday urged the United States to help fund its fight against the drug trade in the way it has done for years with neighbouring Colombia. Nestled between Colombia and Peru, the world’s top cocaine producers, Ecuador has experienced a spike in homicides and other crimes related to rising narcotics seizures. “Ecuador can not get ahead on its own,” Lasso, a conservative who took office in May, told a Madrid conference. “I have started to think that it’s time for a ‘Plan Ecuador’,” he added in a reference to the “Plan Colombia” under which Washington has provided billions in military and other aid to fight drug trafficking. Despite receiving more than $7.0 billion (6 billion euros) from the United States since 2000 as part of this plan, Colombia remains the world’s top cocaine producer.