Noboa Announces Referendum on US Military Presence
Maduro: "The US Is Targeting Venezuela's Energy"
While Ecuador, which has declared war on drug cartels, is moving to cooperate with the United States by holding a national referendum on the construction of a US military base, Venezuela is intensifying its confrontational stance, vowing to resist what it calls imperialist invasion.
On September 21 (local time), Ecuador's National Electoral Council announced that it had approved the proposal from President Daniel Noboa's administration to hold a constitutional referendum on the construction of a US military base in the country. The referendum will consist of two questions: whether to agree to abolish the ban on the establishment of foreign military bases or facilities for military purposes, and whether to agree to end mandatory budget support for political organizations (parties). Both measures require constitutional amendments to be implemented.
In the past, Ecuador hosted a US military base in the coastal city of Manta, but in 2008, under the left-leaning administration of former President Rafael Correa, the constitution was amended to ban the establishment of foreign military bases and the stationing of foreign troops. As a result, US forces withdrew from Ecuador in 2009.
After a special presidential election, Daniel Noboa has been in office since November 2023 and has argued for the necessity of US military facilities to block drug trafficking cartels. President Noboa has implemented tough measures, including deploying the military to cities exposed to gangs and designating drug trafficking organizations as terrorist groups.
Meanwhile, hostility toward the US military's presence around the Caribbean is rising in Venezuela. President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela said the previous day that the United States' "all-out attack" on Venezuela had entered a new phase, and local daily El Universal and others reported that he called for "unity among all citizens and sectors of the nation to resist imperialist invasion."
The United States has deployed eight warships, including a nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, to waters near Venezuela in the Caribbean, and has stationed F-35 fighter jets in Puerto Rico, a US territory adjacent to Venezuela. President Maduro stated, "We will seek international support regarding this threat to our sovereignty," and added, "The (US) plan is not only to target Venezuela's energy resources, including oil, but also to pressure the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)." For the first time, the Venezuelan military has begun training ordinary citizens in weapons use in villages across the country, calling on them to join government troops and militias in defending the territory in case of emergency.
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