24/7 Space News
WATER WORLD
Ecuador could host foreign military base on Galapagos
Ecuador could host foreign military base on Galapagos
by AFP Staff Writers
Quito (AFP) Oct 28, 2025

Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa, a staunch US ally, said Tuesday the South American nation could host a foreign military base on the Galapagos Islands, famous for their unique flora and fauna.

Ecuadorans will decide in a referendum on November 16 whether to repeal a 2008 constitutional ban on their country hosting foreign military bases, as sought by Noboa.

Noboa told Radio Centro station that Baltra, a small island in the Pacific archipelago chain where British scientist Charles Darwin developed his theory of evolution, could be used to combat drug and fuel trafficking, as well as illegal fishing.

Baltra, which has an airport, was home to a US military base during World War II.

His remarks comes as the United States ratchets up strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats off South America, which initially chiefly hit Venezuelan vessels but has also targeted Colombian boats.

On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced strikes on a four more boats, killing 14 people, bringing the death toll from Washington's campaign to at least 57 since September.

Noboa did not specify which country could establish a military base in Ecuador, a major hub for cocaine trafficking, but has talked of "various countries," including the United States.

On a visit to Quito in September US Secretary of State Marco Rubio vowed to help him "wage war" against drug-trafficking "terrorists."

Noboa said Tuesday hosting foreign troops in the Galapagos "is not to harm the Galapagos or to give them away, it is to protect them."

The Galapagos Islands, a World Heritage Site, are situated some 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) off the coast of Ecuador.

The Ecuadoran armed forces regularly seize drugs, weapons, and fuel in the surrounding waters.

The United States for years operated a military base in Ecuador's Pacific port of Manta.

In 2009, then left-wing president Rafael Correa, a fierce US critic, refused to renew the lease.

Related Links
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
WATER WORLD
Aussie PM meets Trump with critical minerals on offer
Sydney (AFP) Oct 19, 2025
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets with President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday, touting his country's abundant critical minerals as a way to loosen China's grip over global supplies. At the same time, Albanese is hoping to secure Trump's backing for a 2021 pact to arm Australia with silent, nuclear-powered attack submarines. Australians have a mostly unfavourable view of the Trump administration, polling shows, though the country relies on the United States to balance China ... read more

WATER WORLD
China vows massive high-tech sector development in next decade

China urges 'equal dialogue' with US as Apple's Cook visits

Space Ocean and Enduralock to unify orbital docking standards for in-space fluid and power transfer

Europe cannot let US, China be 'technological leaders': Nobel laureate Aghion

WATER WORLD
Myanmar scam cities booming despite crackdown - using Musk's Starlink

Sentinel-1D prepares for encapsulation ahead of November launch

HyImpulse secures 45 million euros to accelerate orbital rocket program

SpaceX launches rockets from opposite coasts, ties mission total

WATER WORLD
Are there living microbes on Mars? Check the ice

Blocks of dry ice carve gullies on Martian dunes through explosive sublimation

Yeast withstands Mars-like shocks and toxic salts in survival test

Key ExoMars Rover part ships from Aberystwyth

WATER WORLD
China expands space capabilities with new lunar and deep space milestones

China marks milestone 600th Long March rocket launch

Chinese astronauts complete fourth spacewalk of Shenzhou XX mission

Constellations of Power: Smart Dragon-3 and the Geopolitics of China's Space Strategy

WATER WORLD
China deploys sixth batch of Spacesail communications satellites

28 Starlink satellites lift on 130th mission of SpaceX's Falcon 9

SATLINE boosts European satellite reach with new UK data center

Momentus Expands NASA Partnership with Dual Contracts for In-Space Manufacturing and Propulsion Demonstrations

WATER WORLD
Global race for rare earths comes to Kenya's Mrima Hill

Virtual reality helps people understand and care about distant communities

Stiff skeletons on demand in Pacific soft coral open path for bio-inspired materials

Gold-based platform enables direct visualization of nanoscale binding forces

WATER WORLD
Newly found rocky super-Earth could become key focus in search for life

Iron from deep-sea vents travels across oceans to fuel marine life

Hydrothermal vents may have triggered early molecular chemistry on ancient Earth

Planet formation depends on when it happens: UNLV model shows why

WATER WORLD
Could these wacky warm Jupiters help astronomers solve the planet formation puzzle?

Out-of-this-world ice geysers on Saturn's Enceladus

3 Questions: How a new mission to Uranus could be just around the corner

A New Model of Water in Jupiter's Atmosphere

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.