Trump friends are pitched a free trade agreement and a US military installation by Ecuador, according to sources

Two people directly familiar with the situation said Ecuadorian authorities have shown interest in hosting a U.S. military post in the South American nation to supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump.

The officials also expressed interest in signing a free trade agreement with the United States, which has eluded the Andean country despite the fact that Peru and Colombia, two neighbors, have had bilateral agreements with the U.S. for more than ten years, according to the sources, who asked not to be named in order to discuss confidential discussions.

According to the sources, the expressions of interest were given to Republican lobbyists close to the Trump administration in Washington in recent weeks. The White House National Security Council did not reply to a request for comment, and it is unclear whether the administration is aware of or interested in the recommendations.

The administration of Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa, who is attempting to curb crime and fortify connections with Trump associates in the run-up to a contested April election, has recently proposed an unusual plan: the military base pitch.

Erik Prince, a well-known Trump supporter and the creator of the contentious private military company Blackwater, and Noboa launched a strategic partnership on Wednesday to combat crime and narcoterrorism in the 17 million-person nation.

Noboa, 37, has openly advocated for the establishment of foreign military bases in Ecuador. He is the heir to one of the nation’s largest commercial dynasties. With the backing of socialist former President Rafael Correa, the Ecuadorian legislature is currently in the early phases of a legislative procedure that might end a 2008 constitutional ban on such facilities.

During World War II, the United States government maintained a military installation on the ecologically delicate Galapagos Islands. Up until 2009, the base was mostly utilized to fight drug trafficking on the mainland, but Correa compelled Washington to shut the outpost.

Trump’s transactional foreign policy instincts and readiness to consider unconventional policy ideas seem to be the motivations behind the unconventional ways that a number of other small and medium-sized countries have been pursuing their relations with Washington.

To pitch the Trump administration on a crucial minerals contract between the two countries, for example, officials from the Democratic Republic of the Congo have visited Washington in recent weeks. The conservative president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, a well-known Trump admirer, has volunteered to house criminals deported from the United States in Salvadoran prisons.

A Justice Department office that monitors foreign lobbying operations said Monday that Ecuador’s government has chosen Mercury Public Affairs, based in Washington, to represent its interests with the Trump administration.

There is no mention of military bases in the document detailing the lobbying deal. In fact, it mentions “migration, trade, and security issues, including anti-terrorism efforts” as possible partnership areas.
Requests for response were not answered by Mercury Public Affairs or the Ecuadorian foreign ministry.

ELECTION THAT IS TIGHT

In the upcoming tight runoff election on April 13, Noboa will face Correa’s protégé, socialist Luisa Gonzalez.

During his campaign, Noboa claimed that there had been a 15% decrease in violent deaths, a decrease in violence in prisons, and the capture of important gang leaders. In order to combat insecurity, he has pledged to continue using the military in jails and on the streets.

“The Noboa administration is also looking to work with the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs to devise ways to “combat narcoterrorism,” the Justice Department filing on Monday stated.

In addition to demanding greater measures to combat the drug-related violence that has shook Ecuador in recent years, Gonzalez, 47, has voiced resistance to the deployment of foreign troops in the country. In the most dangerous areas, she has promised to implement a social spending plan and to take action against corrupt prosecutors and judges.

According to one of the people who were familiar with the Ecuadoreans’ contacts with Republican lobbyists, they were probably requesting too many deliverables in too little time. In order to avoid giving the impression that it is endorsing one party over another, the State Department typically restricts bilateral engagement just before elections, according to the source.

In addition to his commitment to combat drug trafficking in Latin America, Trump has occasionally indicated interest in extending American physical power. For example, he has suggested that the United States might effectively take over Gaza, threatened to invade Panama, and floated the idea of taking Greenland.

However, the way his administration has interacted with Latin America hasn’t always been clear-cut.

He has frequently expressed his displeasure with Mexico’s efforts to combat fentanyl trafficking by threatening to impose 25% universal tariffs on the country, which partially went into force earlier in March. At the same time, he has praised Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.

In addition to agreeing to deport Venezuela, a regional adversary, his administration refused to extend Chevron’s operating license there, thus cementing Venezuela’s economic isolation.