Anti-drug ops likely to move out of Ecuador

[unhappycamper]

Anti-drug ops likely to move out of Ecuador
By Patrick Winn - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday May 20, 2008 6:26:05 EDT

The end is near for anti-narcotics operations out of Ecuador, but U.S. Southern Command leaders are quietly planning to persevere without it.

The 10-year lease on Forward Operating Location Manta, located in an international airport along the coast of the South American republic, expires in November 2009, and few expect the operation to survive political hostility from Ecuadorian leaders who perceive the U.S. presence as an affront to the nation’s sovereignty. Ecuador’s parliament has voted not to renew.

Manta’s commander, Lt. Col. Robert Leonard, chalked up its likely demise as an inconvenience to the anti-drug effort, not a major setback.

“It doesn’t create a free-for-all for the narcos,” Leonard said. “We’re right on top of the Pacific, in a perfect location. Our aircraft can get over the water and do our missions quickly. But that’s not to say we couldn’t utilize other and not skip a beat.”

Those other locations include Comalapa Air Base in El Salvador, the island of Curacao, off Venezuela’s coast, and Naval Air Station Key West, headquarters of the multinational counterdrug cooperative Joint Interagency Task Force East.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/05/airforce_manta_demise_051808/