The Ecuadorian government will not renew the U.S. lease on its Manta air base, which expires next year.
In a statement Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry said the two sides have agreed that the United States will end its operations in the base in August 2009, and the U.S. facilities will subsequently be transferred to the Ecuadorian Air Force.
The air base, located at Manta Bay in western Ecuador, is the only U.S. outpost in South America. The United States signed a 10-year lease agreement with the Ecuadorian government on Nov. 12,1999, to conduct anti-drug operations from the base.
Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has repeatedly said that the lease agreement will not be renewed.
A new draft constitution approved recently by a special assembly prohibits any foreign military presence on Ecuadorian territory.
Washington does not plan to set up an alternative base in either neighboring Colombia or Peru, U.S. military officials have said.
Source:Xinhua
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