Ecuador says ties with U.S. not to sour over stoppage of military base contract

People's Daily
Posted: 2008-04-17 10:37:51

The Ecuadorian government said on Tuesday that its ties with the United States will not be strained by Ecuador's refusal to renew the contract with the U.S. military for renting Ecuador's Manta base after 2009.

Ecuadorian Defense Minister Javier Ponce said the two countries will not break their relations after the stoppage of the contract, which gives the United States a lease until 2009.

It is necessary to reduce the U.S. influence in Ecuador's society as well as its political and military fields, Ponce told the Teleamazonas channel.

But he admitted that the training of Ecuadorian soldiers in the United States would be "reconsidered," and may be suspended or limited.

"If necessary, other training sources, like Argentina, Brazil and Chile, will be sought. Latin America is very rich in that aspect," he added.

Ponce said Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa was "brave" to denounce that some Ecuadorian intelligence departments had handed over intelligence to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during a recent Colombia-Ecuador border crisis.

Ecuadorian Defense Minister Wellington Sandoval resigned over the scandal on April 9 and President Correa also sacked some other senior military officers.

The United States has used the Manta base, located in Manabi province and off the Pacific's coast, to fight drug trafficking since 1999.