USA bets on Ecuador for greater regional security and defense presence

The head of the US Southern Command, Laura Richardson, is in Ecuador to address with the Executive of Guillermo Lasso bilateral cooperation issues in the area of security and defense.

The Southern Command was created in the 1980s as a military diplomacy tool of the Pentagon. Its mission is to increase Washington’s presence, especially in Latin America, by installing military bases.

“Ecuador occupies an enclave or island for the US, of regional and military interest, in the context of the fight against drug trafficking in the region; and taking into account the changes, in political terms, of the governments in Peru and Colombia,” said the journalist of the Ecuadorian radio station, Radio La Calle, Juan Carlos Cabezas.

For the interviewee, the US general’s presence is explained by her country’s need to guarantee regional security, particularly in the fight against drug trafficking.

The Ecuadorian journalist also highlighted that the State has been “very disciplined in fulfilling its economic goals, with an almost absolute dependence on the US”.

Meanwhile, on Monday, Sept. 12, Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso presented the questions for the widespread consultation on security, institutional quality, and environment to be held next year.

On the first issue, Ecuadorians will be asked if they agree with the military working with the police in the fight against drug trafficking.

And also about the extradition of drug criminals so that they can be judged according to the laws of other countries where they committed the crime.

Regarding the second axis, one of the questions will refer to the reduction of the number of members of the National Assembly from 137 to a number close to 100.

Concerning the environment, there will be a consultation on the creation of a subsystem of water protection to be included in the national system of protected areas.

“[The consultation] has a double component. On the one hand, it is seen as a political lifeline. This is a government with very low acceptance, less than 20%, affected by a tremendous crisis, added to the problem of insecurity, of great concern to the population,” indicated Cabezas.

The interviewee also highlighted that Lasso’s Executive seeks to project its candidates for the sectional elections of 2023.

The consultation promoted will be the 12th exercise of direct democracy -citizen consultations or referendums- in this South American country since 1978.

With information from Sputnik