Ecuador Firm On Reducing US Presence, Spies
Quito (AFP) - Ecuador on Saturday stressed it wanted the number of US military staff on its territory reduced, and warned it also would not allow US "espionage equipment."
"It just makes no sense that an outsized number of US military staff, who report to the US Southern Command, would be here, at the US Embassy," Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino told reporters.
President Rafael Correa said Wednesday he would ask the United States to withdraw American military personnel assigned to its embassy in Quito.
Correa said he became aware of what he described as the oversized presence after learning that four US military personnel were aboard an Ecuadoran military helicopter that came under fire on October 3 near the border with Colombia.
Correa, an economist by training who has long railed against America's "imperialism" in its Latin American backyard, said Quito was "already taking measures" to address the issue.
MORE...
http://news.yahoo.com/ecuador-firm-reducing-us-presence-spies-022952371.html
