U.S. drug war outpost in Ecuador could be closed
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To many Ecuadoreans, Manta military outpost in South America is a flash point in a regional debate over the limits of American power in Latin America.
But, writes the New York Times:
To the Bush administration, the American air station here is a critical component in the war on drugs in the Andes. The 180 service members based here conduct about 100 flights a month over the Pacific looking for drug boats from Colombia, the source of about 90% of the cocaine used in the United States. NYT
President Rafael Correa (pictured), who is still smarting after Colombia’s military incursion into Ecuadorean territory in pursuit of the FARC in March, opposes renewing the agreement allowing the American base at Manta, arguing that the base compromises Ecuador’s sovereignty.
-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City