Voters in Ecuador have rejected a proposal to bring US military bases back to the country, in a national referendum held on Sunday.
With around 95% of ballots counted, the official tally shows that 60.58% voted against President Daniel Noboa’s initiative to allow foreign troops to operate in Ecuador as part of efforts to fight organized crime and drug trafficking.
Noboa said he accepts the results. “We consulted with the Ecuadorians, and they have spoken. We fulfilled our promise to ask them directly. We respect the will of the Ecuadorian people,” he wrote on X.
US troops were stationed at an airbase in the port city of Manta until 2009, when then-President Rafael Correa refused to renew the lease and banned foreign bases in Ecuador.
Hellbound and Down 