(MENAFN) Ecuadorian voters have decisively turned down a plan to allow US military bases back into the country, according to the results of Sunday’s national referendum.

With roughly 95% of ballots counted, 60.58% of participants voted ‘No’ to President Daniel Noboa’s proposal to permit foreign troops to operate in Ecuador as part of anti-crime and anti-drug initiatives.

Noboa acknowledged the outcome, stating on X: “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.”

US forces were previously stationed at an air base in the port city of Manta until 2009, when then-President Rafael Correa chose not to renew the lease and prohibited foreign military bases in Ecuador.

Earlier this year, Noboa suggested several potential locations for US forces, including Manta, Salinas, and one of the Galapagos Islands. US Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited Ecuadorian military sites in July as part of discussions on the initiative.

The referendum took place amid a broader US military buildup in the Caribbean, where President Donald Trump ordered strikes on vessels allegedly linked to drug cartels and accused the leftist presidents of Venezuela and Colombia of supporting “narcoterrorists.” At the same time, Trump has pursued closer ties with conservative regional leaders, including Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, who offered to host deported US migrants in Salvadoran prisons.

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