Ecuador has taken a major step toward reversing its long-standing constitutional ban on foreign military bases in the country.
On June 3, at President Daniel Noboa’s express request, the National Assembly, in which the ruling party holds a majority, approved an amendment to Article 5 of the Constitution, which had enshrined Ecuador as a territory of peace and explicitly prohibited foreign military presence in the country.
On its official website, the National Assembly stated: “This reform constitutes a path towards the establishment of foreign military bases and the recovery of national security through strategic cooperation, intelligence exchange, and technology transfer, which will strengthen the operational capabilities of the Ecuadorian State.”
For their part, several organizations and social movements denounced the National Assembly’s decision. Among the organizations is the Pachakutik Movement, the electoral force of the Indigenous movement, which declared: “The approval for the establishment of foreign military installations violates national sovereignty and exposes the country to foreign interests. This not only harms national sovereignty but also allows Daniel Noboa’s government to deceive Ecuadorians with empty promises of fighting drug trafficking groups.”
However, the Noboa government’s pro-US agenda must still overcome two more hurdles. That of the Constitutional Court, which has to authorize the change, and – most importantly – the approval of the change through a popular referendum, expected to take place in the coming months.
The drastic move is hardly unprecedented, as Ecuador has long served as a key strategic anchor for US geopolitical interests.
From World War II to Plan Colombia: Ecuador’s role in US strategy
During World War II, the government of Carlos Alberto Arroyo del Río ceded national territory for the installation of US military bases in Ecuador. To this day, the ruins of the former US military base remain visible in the Galápagos Islands.
At that time, the alliance between Quito and Washington during the war the United States was waging with Japan justified, in a way, the US military presence in Ecuador’s Pacific Ocean. However, in the decades following World War II, the reason for reinstalling military bases became less clear.
In 1999, the United States became directly involved in Colombia’s military and security infrastructure, under the pretext of combatting drug cartels and ending armed conflict in the country through the so-called “Plan Colombia” – a strategy that included establishing a military base in Manta, Ecuador. The government of Ecuador signed an agreement with the US government to install a military base in the country, ostensibly to fight crime and drug trafficking.
Article 5: Ecuador’s response to US military overreach
Despite the rhetoric of Ecuadorian and US rulers, the installation of the Manta Base did not lead to reduced violence in the country.
As explained by academic and security expert Fernando Carrión: “When the agreement [establishing a military base in the country between the United States and Ecuador] was signed, the homicide rate in Ecuador was 13 [per 100,000 inhabitants]. In 2009, when the Manta base left, the homicide rate was 17 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants. In other words, during the 10 years of US military presence in Ecuador, homicides increased by four points.” In addition, Carrión said that although there are seven US military bases in Colombia, “Cocaine production has increased by 53%. In other words, the seven US military bases in Colombia did not reduce drug trafficking.”
Aside from the Ecuadorian revolutionary left, which always staunchly opposed the Manta base, several Ecuadorian politicians also began to question US military presence in the country, arguing that it did not provide tangible benefits to the country. One of them was Rafael Correa, who declared that he would “cut off his hand before renewing the agreement with the US military.”
Washington also rejected Correa’s counter-proposal: the Manta base could be maintained if the Ecuadorian Army could establish a base in Miami in exchange.
Subsequently, the Constituent Assembly promulgated a constitution that declared in Article 5: “Ecuador is a territory of peace. The establishment of foreign military bases or foreign installations for military purposes will not be allowed.”
Thus, a constitutional lock was created to prevent the establishment of military bases in the country.
Ecuadorian oligarchy’s historic promise to the US military
However, the Ecuadorian oligarchy, historically aligned with US geopolitical interests, has consistently sought to undermine the principle of Article 5.
When crime rates rose during the Correa administration, they blamed the departure of the Manta base, yet they quickly abandoned that argument when crime and violence dropped dramatically later in his presidency.
But now, as violence spirals out of control and the homicide rate reaches historic highs, the argument for renewed foreign military presence is gaining traction once again. The road to deeper foreign intervention was paved years ago.
During the government of Guillermo Lasso (2021-2023), one of Ecuador’s most powerful bankers, three military agreements were enacted with the United States. They consisted of exchanging information, cooperation agreements between the armed forces of both countries, donations of defense artifacts, etc. The current president Daniel Noboa ratified these agreements after taking office.
For its part, in 2022, the United States Congress approved the “Ecuador-United States Partnership Act”, which seeks to facilitate greater cooperation in security, trade, and development. Notably, the agreement was never discussed by the Ecuadorian Legislative, which many view as a sign of the Ecuadorian State’s submission to the United States.
Following this, in 2024, Noboa approved a proposal for the Galapagos Islands, a protected area for its natural wealth, to allow access to warships and aircraft from the United States. That is, the anti-sovereignty direction taken by the previous right-wing governments in the country has been continuous and sustained.
Reform for security or implementation of the neoliberal project?
Noboa’s neoliberal government, aligned with Trump’s foreign policy, waited for the right moment to attempt to eliminate Article 5 – the final obstacle to the entry of US troops in the country.
With the National Assembly now at the service of the president, and a population desperate to overcome the violence of drug trafficking and rising deaths, many predict that the people may support the amendment of Article 5.
However, a setback for President Noboa on this question would not be unheard of either. He has already lost key issues in popular referendums, and he could see his popularity affected by other factors, such as the blackouts and the planned tax adjustments.
Several critics have been quick to point out the countless times Noboa’s government promised to reduce violence if his initiatives were approved. He had previously claimed that if the population voted yes on questions about improving security (and increasing the power of law enforcement), that violence would be reduced. He also said that the money raised from the 3% increase in the Value Added Tax would improve the operational capacity of the military and police, and thus reduce crime.
In both cases, the general population trusted Noboa, but his promises have yet to be fulfilled. 2025 is already the most violent year in Ecuador’s history, and the government does not seem to know how to stop the bloodshed.
As such, the fight against terrorism and crime has become the repeated justification for the continuation of Noboa’s neoliberal program: reducing the size of the state, implementing fiscal and tax reforms, and ceding sovereignty. In this context, rampant violence and the desperation it produces have proven useful for advancing a political project long desired by Ecuadorian elites: the full establishment of neoliberalism in the country – an agenda that extends beyond Ecuador’s borders and into the realm of US geopolitical projects.
