2014-01-23 10:26:36

Ecuador to US embassy: reduce military personnel


(Vatican Radio) Ecuador's President Rafael Correa is determined to downsize the US Military presence at the US Embassy in the capital, Quito. Political feathers were ruffled after it was revealed that four members of the US Armed Forces were aboard an Ecuadorian military helicopter, which came under fire last October, close to the Border with neighboring Colombia.

An economist by training, part of which was in the United States, President Correa is not an avid fan of Washington. He's claiming the current US military presence at its embassy adds up to almost 50 personnel and that's far to many. A spokesman at the US Embassy in Quito begs to differ, explaining there are about twenty US Defence Department employees there.

Since becoming President in 2008 Rafael Correa, has distanced himself from the United States.

In 2009 Ecuador refused to renew an agreement which had previously allowed the US to use its territory as a base from which military flights conducted surveillance operations on illicit drug trafficking operations. Listen to this report from James Blears: RealAudioMP3







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