Foreign military bases not allowed in country after vote in Ecuador

Ecuadoreans have voted against allowing the return of foreign military bases in the country, frustrating US hopes of expanding its presence in the Eastern Pacific region. The referendum result is a blow to Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa, who had campaigned to change the constitution in order to reverse a ban that the country’s legislature passed in 2008. He said it would help fight organised crime and reduce the soaring violence the country has seen in recent years, during which it has become one of the world’s biggest drug-trafficking hotspots. The US had hoped the referendum would pave the way for it to open a military base, 16 years after it was made to close a site on the Pacific coast.