A Letter, Then a Decree: Ecuador Military Loses Its Air Force Chief in Two Days
ECUADOR · SECURITY
Key Facts
- —What happened President Noboa removed Ecuador’s air force chief by decree, two days after a letter on United States flights.
- —What the letter said The commander wanted written legal rules before American aircraft used Taura, an Ecuadorian air base.
- —Why it matters Ecuador’s constitution bans foreign military bases, and voters refused to lift that ban in 2025.
- —The catch The decree gave no reason, so the link between the letter and the removal stays an interpretation.
- —Who it hits The new air force commander inherits close, and legally contested, cooperation with United States forces.
- —What comes next Any wider American operation in Ecuador still needs to fit inside the constitutional ban.
The Ecuador military lost its air force chief two days after he asked, in writing, for legal rules at Taura air base.
On 8 September 2026 the commander of the Ecuadorian Air Force wrote a confidential letter about United States flights. Two days later a presidential decree removed him, and the Ecuador military had a new air chief the same day.
The letter, and what it asked for
Lieutenant General Mauricio Xavier Salazar Machuca led the Ecuadorian Air Force, known at home as the FAE. His letter carried the file number Oficio 4544-OF.
It went to Army General Henry Santiago Delgado Salvador, who heads the Joint Command of the Armed Forces. The subject line asked for guidelines on bilateral cooperation at Taura air base.
Taura sits in Guayas province, in western Ecuador, and the FAE runs it. The United States Air Force planned temporary support flights there.
The plan involved building work and direct use of the base. Salazar wanted the scope of that American activity set out in writing before any of it began.
The flights must not amount to setting up a foreign base, he wrote. The FAE, he added, had to keep operational and administrative control of Taura.
None of this was meant for the public. Ecuadorian outlets printed the letter days later.
The article of the constitution he leaned on
Salazar quoted Article 5 of the Ecuadorian Constitution, adopted in 2008. It declares Ecuador a territory of peace and bans foreign military bases.
The same article forbids handing a national base to foreign armed forces. That is the exact arrangement his letter warned against.
He also cited three Constitutional Court opinions from January 2024, which set conditions for foreign military activity on Ecuadorian soil.
One dealt with the movement of United States Defense Department aircraft, ships and staff. Another covered overflights in operations against crime at sea.
Decree 496, signed without a reason
Executive Decree 496 ended Salazar’s duties on 10 September 2026. Brigadier General Mauro Enrique Pablo Julián Bedoya Avilés took the post the same day.
The decree thanked Salazar for his “valuable and loyal services” and stopped there. It set out no reason at all.
The government has not said that the letter caused the removal. No minister and no commander has linked the two in public.
Telesur, a Latin American broadcaster, called the letter the trigger. Radio Pichincha, an Ecuadorian news site, published the document itself on 12 September.
The Joint Command has not said whether it ever answered the request. What is on record is a gap of two days.
Voters kept the ban the president wanted lifted
In November 2025 Noboa asked Ecuadorians to strike the ban on foreign bases out of the constitution. They refused, rejecting the change by 61 percent.
So the ban still stands, and any foreign military work has to fit inside it. That is the frame Salazar was writing about.
In June 2026 Noboa signed a separate decree on cooperation with allied states. It let foreign personnel work in the most violent provinces.
How the Americans are already here
The United States holds no permanent base in Ecuador. Its presence runs on joint operations, short deployments and security agreements.
In March 2026 American and Ecuadorian forces began joint operations against drug gangs, with United States staff advising and supporting.
United States Air Force personnel spent a short period at the Eloy Alfaro base in Manta in December 2025. That work covered counter-narcotics and intelligence.
Ecuador has confirmed that the American soldiers on its soil come from the Army’s 7th Special Forces Group. United States defence staff may enter without a visa for up to 180 days.
Marco Rubio, the United States Secretary of State, visited Ecuador on 9 September 2026. That was the day between the letter and the decree.
On that visit he promised to seek US$45 million more for Ecuadorian security. He also pledged equipment for the Ecuadorian navy.
The questions parliament has been asking
Lawmakers have pressed the government on the legal basis for the American role. EL PAÍS, a Spanish newspaper, reported in May 2026 that Congress had never authorised it.
Ecuador has signed no new treaty on foreign bases this year. Manta has no permanent American installation.
The reasoning behind Decree 496 has not been published. That leaves the timing on the record and the motive off it.
What the new commander inherits
Bedoya Avilés now leads the Ecuadorian Air Force. He is a military pilot and a former defence attaché in Washington.
He takes the post in the middle of close security work with United States forces. The Ecuador military still has to operate inside a constitutional ban on foreign bases.
That tension did not begin with one letter, and it does not end with one decree.
More: Ecuador news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who did President Noboa remove from Ecuador’s air force?
Lieutenant General Mauricio Xavier Salazar Machuca, commander general of the Ecuadorian Air Force, through Executive Decree 496 on 10 September 2026.
Why was the Ecuadorian air force commander removed?
The decree gave no reason and only thanked him for his services. Some outlets point to his letter, which remains an interpretation.
What did the letter about United States flights say?
It asked for written legal rules covering temporary American flights at Taura air base, citing Article 5 of the constitution.
Does Ecuador allow foreign military bases?
No. The 2008 constitution bans them, and voters rejected a November 2025 proposal to lift that ban by 61 percent.
Sources: Sources: Radio Pichincha, El Diario (Ecuador), Telesur, Devdiscourse, BBC, EL PAÍS. https://www.radiopichincha.com/noboa-jefe-fae-directrices-vuelos-tropas-estados-unidos-taura/ https://www.eldiario.ec/ecuador/mauro-bedoya-aviles-asume-la-comandancia-general-de-la-fuerza-aerea-ecuatoriana-10092026 https://www.telesurtv.net/noboa-remueve-fuerza-aerea-vuelos-eeuu/ https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/politics/3975143-us-pledges-enhanced-security-aid-for-ecuador https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgjzz4gn64zo https://english.elpais.com/usa/2026-05-13/us-lawmakers-demand-the-pentagon-suspend-its-anti-drug-operations-in-ecuador.html
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief