Ecuador’s world-famous Galapagos Islands now open to US military
THE national government of Daniel Noboa approved a resolution that enables US ships and crews to use the Galapagos Islands for control and patrol activities in the area.
On February 15 2024, Noboa signed a series of military co-operation treaties with the US government, allowing ships, military personnel, armament, equipment, and submarines to be installed in the natural reserve, which Unesco declared a World Natural Heritage Site in 1978.
In doing so, Noboa ratified the Washington Agreement, signed by former president Guillermo Lasso. The agreement grants US soldiers and their contractors several privileges, exemptions, and immunity in Ecuadorian territory, similar to those enjoyed by members of diplomatic missions as agreed on in the Vienna Convention.
According to Resolution No. 23-CGREG-10-12-2024 adopted by the Governing Council of the Galapagos Provincial Regime, the execution of the so-called Integral Security Project in the Insular Region was approved, which empowers US troops to operate in the Ecuadorian islands without paying the administrative taxes that other entities have to pay.
The official document states that the arrival of US troops seeks to diminish the agency of local drug traffickers, which, in alliance with transnational cartels, have caused a serious security crisis in the country.
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