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Ecuador’s Congress passed a constitutional amendment on Tuesday, reversing a 2009 ban on the establishment of foreign military bases.
This initiative is part of President Daniel Noboa’s campaign promises as he seeks military support from the US to combat violent drug trafficking organisations. The proposed change will now go to a referendum.
In April, Noboa said that he had requested military assistance from US President Donald Trump as he aims to tackle cartels that have turned what was once one of the region’s most peaceful nations into one of its most dangerous.
In February, the president stated he would invite “special forces” from various unnamed allied nations to assist, and has been in discussions with US mercenary Erik Prince, the founder of the security firm Blackwater.
Noboa was re-elected for a second term in April.
The United States maintained a military installation in Ecuador at the Manta Port until 2009, when a constitutional prohibition was enacted that Noboa now seeks to overturn.
