President Guillermo Lasso ratified the Cooperation Agreement with the United States for Air Interception, with which Ecuador will receive radars and financing.
Military and police officers in a clandestine track used for drug trafficking, discovered in Salinas, Santa Elena, on January 27, 2023.
With the signing of Decree No. 846, on the afternoon of August 16, Ecuador ratified all the content of the agreement signed with the United States for “Air Assistance and Interception.”
This agreement will allow, as announced by President Guillermo Lasso, that the Ecuadorian Air Force “have better equipment, skills and information to track the aircraft of criminal organizations.”
In other words, with US cooperation, the Ecuadorian military will be able to locate, intercept, and stop the so-called drug planes.
Based on the agreement, Ecuador will also obtain intelligence data, financing, radars and other resources to intercept drug routes used by organized crime and facilitate the arrest of drug traffickers.
“This instrument responds to the need to strengthen international cooperation and the exchange of information in the fight against drug trafficking,” a government statement also stated.
According to the signed document, Ecuador adheres to the regulations of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), to avoid the interception of private and civil aircraft.
In recent years, and despite the efforts of the governments in power, drug trafficking routes in Ecuador have expanded.
Thus, in the coastal cities of Manta, Playas or Santa Elena, clandestine runways have been established for the departure of drug planes.
In addition, five days ago, Peru signed a similar treaty with the United States, precisely to combat drug trafficking.
