United States - Ecuadorian Relations: A Study in Counternarcotics Aid, Operations, and Policy

This paper will analyze the current state of United States - Ecuadorian relations, specifically focusing on issues related to the drug trade, counternarcotics operations, and foreign aid. Ecuador’s recent rise as a major drug trafficking hub merits a review of current U.S. counternarcotics policy toward Ecuador, as well as an investigation into policy alternatives that the U.S. could pursue in order to combat the increased trafficking. The goal of this paper will be to recommend a policy option that will best serve U.S. counternarcotics interests in Ecuador and the greater Andean region over the next five to ten years. The relationship between the U.S. and Ecuador has become increasingly strained since the election of current Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa in 2007. Previous Ecuadorian administrations had been friendly, perhaps even deferential, toward the U.S., but Correa has consistently taken an independent and sometimes contrary position to many U.S. policies. Correa’s decision to close the Manta Air Base Forward Operating Location, the mutual expulsion of ambassadors, and Correa’s refusal of U.S. foreign assistance have all worsened relations between the U.S. and Ecuador. The offers of political asylum to Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder, in 2012, and Edward Snowden, NSA leaker, in 2013, have only heightened the mistrust between the two nations. Also contributing to the strained relations between the two countries is the increase in narcotics trafficking through Ecuador over the last 10 years, with the estimated yearly tonnage of illegal drugs trafficked through Ecuador doubling since 2009. While Ecuador and the U.S. continue limited cooperation on counternarcotics operations, the strained relations between the two countries has caused the U.S. to call for a stronger Ecuadorian commitment to combatting the drug trade. This paper will examine the current relationship between these two states, especially in reference to Ecuador’s increasing role as a drug trafficking hub and President Correa’s increasing ...