The day before, the Government asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to use diplomatic channels to incorporate special forces from allied nations in the fight against insecurity, given the growing violence in the national territory.
Sommerfeld said Thursday to the press that they will meet to establish a roadmap, determine which would be the allied countries and seek the mechanisms that allow the implementation of what was requested within the current legal norms.
Since Wednesday, the president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, spoke in favor of the incorporation of special forces from allied nations to support and strengthen actions of the Armed Forces and the National Police, according to an official statement.
The National Assembly (Parliament) decided to discuss the issue at the request of the ruling party of National Democratic Action, however, the session was suspended and the matter was left pending.
Several legislators asked for more information about the Executive’s intentions.
In turn, Noboa asked the Legislature to approve his proposal for a partial reform to the Constitution to allow the installation of foreign military bases in the national territory, a reform that is in parliamentary proceedings.
The Magna Carta of Ecuador, approved in 2008, prohibits the installation of military bases, but the president seeks to modify article 5 with the argument that they are necessary to confront organized crime.
Analysts emphasize that to reduce crime, it is necessary to strengthen social policies and not depend on an external military strategy that, historically, has proven to be ineffective and harmful to the country’s autonomy.
Beyond these comments, the opposition pointed out that Noboa’s proposal to add foreign forces in the fight against crime in the midst of an electoral context shows that his Phoenix Plan did not work, nor did the states of exception, nor the increase in the Value Added Tax (VAT).
On the other hand, the expert on security issues and university professor Luis Córdova warned that legally the only foreign forces that have operated and can currently do so in Ecuador are those of the United States, protected by the Statute of Forces.
This agreement was signed by former President Guillermo Lasso (2021-2023) and ratified in February 2024 by the current ruler aspiring to reelection.
For now, Washington does not seem interested in engaging with Noboa, who may be the “outgoing government,” unless it does so through “psychological operations” and “unconventional warfare,” but if so, the president-candidate would not be making a fuss, Córdova commented on X.
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