Manta Air Base
Encyclopedia
Manta Air Base / Eloy Alfaro International Airport is a combination civilian airport and military air base on the outskirts of Manta
in the province of Manabí
in western continental Ecuador
. The airport, also known as Eloy Alfaro Air Base, is named in honor of Eloy Alfaro
, a former president of Ecuador. It was inaugurated by the Ecuadorian Air Force
on October 24, 1978.
of 48 feet (15 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway
designated 05/23 with an asphalt
surface measuring 9383 by 148 ft (2,859.9 by 45.1 ).
air force component of the United States Southern Command
for operations against illegal cocaine
trafficking in northwestern South America. In 1999, the U.S. signed a ten-year agreement with then Ecuadorean President Jamil Mahuad
that allowed the U.S. to station up 475 military personnel at Manta, rent-free. USAF AWACS E-3
and United States Navy
P-3 Orion
aircraft, supported by about 300 US military personnel, operated from the base to monitor air traffic in the area. The U.S. aircraft based at Manta fed surveillance information to the Joint Interagency Task Force South in Key West
. The aircraft at the base flew about 100 missions a month looking for drug-running boats departing Colombia. In 2007, the flights led to about 200 cocaine seizures, totaling about 230 tons. The flights accounted for about 60 percent of U.S. drug interdiction in the eastern Pacific.
President Rafael Correa
ever since before being elected has stated that he would not renew the agreement that allowed the United States access to the base when it expires in November 2009, and commented that "We can negotiate with the U.S. about a base in Manta, if they let us put a military base in Miami..." . On March 19, 2008 the Ecuadorian Constituent Assembly
voted to outlaw the installation of any foreign military bases in Ecuador. On July 26, 2008 Ecuador's Foreign Ministry formally notified the U.S. embassy that the U.S. lease on the base would not be renewed.
The U.S. attempted to persuade Ecuador that hosting the American forces at Manta is of benefit to the country, pointing to the $71 million the U.S. spent to upgrade the base to a modern airport and the aid donations that are flown into the base and distributed in the local communities. The U.S. base commander stated that the base pumps $6.5 million a year into the local economy and employs 150 local employees. Manta's mayor, Jorge Zambrano, supported keeping the Americans at Manta.
Admiral James Stavridis, chief of the U.S. Southern Command stated on April 21, 2008 that there were no plans to find a replacement drug-interdiction air base in South America if Ecuador declined to renew the lease of Manta. Instead, the U.S. military would use existing air bases in El Salvador
, Curaçao
, and Key West
, Florida
for drug-surveillance flights. Other bases in the continental mass have been posited as candidates for a replacement. The most credible claim of a country prone to host such a base is probably Colombia
, whose base in Puerto Salgar
recently entered a process of recertification by the US military.
On April 14, 2009 U.S. ambassador to Colombia William Brownfield
announced that the base would be relocating from Manta to a location somewhere in Colombia. Said Brownfield, "Colombia and the U.S. are collaborating on efforts against illegal drugs. Part of this collaboration, without doubt, requires access to facilities between both countries." As of July 2009, the US was negotiating with Colombia to use Palanquero Air Base in Puerto Salgar
as Manta's replacement.
The last U.S. military anti-narcotics surveillance mission from Manta was flown on July 17, 2009.
Manta
Manta is a mid-sized city in Manabí Province, Ecuador. It is the second most populous city in the province, the fifth most populous in the country and, economically, the third most important city of Ecuador. Manta has existed since Pre-Columbian times. It was a trading post for the Mantas....
in the province of Manabí
Manabí Province
Manabí is a province in Ecuador. Its capital is Portoviejo. The province is named after the Manabí people.-Economy:Manabí's economy is based heavily on natural resources such as cacao, bananas, cotton, etc. It's industrial sector is based on Tuna canning, tobacco, and alcoholic beverage production...
in western continental Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
. The airport, also known as Eloy Alfaro Air Base, is named in honor of Eloy Alfaro
Eloy Alfaro
José Eloy Alfaro Delgado was the President of Ecuador from 1895 to 1901 and from 1906 to 1911. He became one the strongest opponents of pro-Catholic conservative President Gabriel Garcia Moreno...
, a former president of Ecuador. It was inaugurated by the Ecuadorian Air Force
Ecuadorian Air Force
The Ecuadorian Air Force is the Air arm of the Military of Ecuador and responsible for the protection of the Ecuadorian airspace.-Mission:To develop the military air wing, in order to execute institutional objectives which guarantee sovereignty and contribute towards the nation's security and...
on October 24, 1978.
Facilities
The airport resides at an elevationElevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....
of 48 feet (15 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
designated 05/23 with an asphalt
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
surface measuring 9383 by 148 ft (2,859.9 by 45.1 ).
Terminals, airlines and destinations
Former U.S. military presence
Up until July 2009 a portion of the airport was used by the Air Forces SouthernAir Forces Southern
The Twelfth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona....
air force component of the United States Southern Command
United States Southern Command
The United States Southern Command , located in Miami, Florida, is one of nine Unified Combatant Commands in the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for providing contingency planning and operations in Central and South America, the Caribbean The United States Southern Command...
for operations against illegal cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
trafficking in northwestern South America. In 1999, the U.S. signed a ten-year agreement with then Ecuadorean President Jamil Mahuad
Jamil Mahuad
Jorge Jamil Mahuad Witt is an Ecuadorian lawyer and politician and the 51st President of Ecuador from August 10, 1998 to January 21, 2000. There was a severe economic crisis in Ecuador , which had led to a 60% cut in the armed forces budget...
that allowed the U.S. to station up 475 military personnel at Manta, rent-free. USAF AWACS E-3
E-3 Sentry
The Boeing E-3 Sentry is an airborne warning and control system developed by Boeing as the prime contractor. Derived from the Boeing 707, it provides all-weather surveillance, command, control and communications, and is used by the United States Air Force , NATO, Royal Air Force , French Air Force...
and United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
P-3 Orion
P-3 Orion
The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engine turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed based it on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner. The aircraft is easily recognizable by its distinctive tail stinger or...
aircraft, supported by about 300 US military personnel, operated from the base to monitor air traffic in the area. The U.S. aircraft based at Manta fed surveillance information to the Joint Interagency Task Force South in Key West
Key West
Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida on the North American continent at the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys. Key West is home to the southernmost point in the Continental United States; the island is about from Cuba....
. The aircraft at the base flew about 100 missions a month looking for drug-running boats departing Colombia. In 2007, the flights led to about 200 cocaine seizures, totaling about 230 tons. The flights accounted for about 60 percent of U.S. drug interdiction in the eastern Pacific.
President Rafael Correa
Rafael Correa
Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado born is the President of the Republic of Ecuador and was the president pro tempore of the Union of South American Nations. An economist educated in Ecuador, Belgium and the United States, he was elected President in late 2006 and took office in January 2007...
ever since before being elected has stated that he would not renew the agreement that allowed the United States access to the base when it expires in November 2009, and commented that "We can negotiate with the U.S. about a base in Manta, if they let us put a military base in Miami..." . On March 19, 2008 the Ecuadorian Constituent Assembly
Ecuadorian Constituent Assembly
The Ecuadorian Constituent Assembly was a 2007-2008 constitutional assembly in Ecuador, which drafted the 2008 Constitution of Ecuador, approved via the Ecuadorian constitutional referendum, 2008....
voted to outlaw the installation of any foreign military bases in Ecuador. On July 26, 2008 Ecuador's Foreign Ministry formally notified the U.S. embassy that the U.S. lease on the base would not be renewed.
The U.S. attempted to persuade Ecuador that hosting the American forces at Manta is of benefit to the country, pointing to the $71 million the U.S. spent to upgrade the base to a modern airport and the aid donations that are flown into the base and distributed in the local communities. The U.S. base commander stated that the base pumps $6.5 million a year into the local economy and employs 150 local employees. Manta's mayor, Jorge Zambrano, supported keeping the Americans at Manta.
Admiral James Stavridis, chief of the U.S. Southern Command stated on April 21, 2008 that there were no plans to find a replacement drug-interdiction air base in South America if Ecuador declined to renew the lease of Manta. Instead, the U.S. military would use existing air bases in El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
, Curaçao
Curaçao
Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, and Key West
Key West
Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida on the North American continent at the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys. Key West is home to the southernmost point in the Continental United States; the island is about from Cuba....
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
for drug-surveillance flights. Other bases in the continental mass have been posited as candidates for a replacement. The most credible claim of a country prone to host such a base is probably Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, whose base in Puerto Salgar
Puerto Salgar
Puerto Salgar is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. It has come to international attention since the US ambassador in Colombia announced the Palanquero Air Base had entered a recertification process, possibly in order to host US military personnel as a...
recently entered a process of recertification by the US military.
On April 14, 2009 U.S. ambassador to Colombia William Brownfield
William Brownfield
William R. Brownfield is the current Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs as of January 10, 2011. . He has previously served as U.S. Ambassador to Chile, Venezuela, and Colombia....
announced that the base would be relocating from Manta to a location somewhere in Colombia. Said Brownfield, "Colombia and the U.S. are collaborating on efforts against illegal drugs. Part of this collaboration, without doubt, requires access to facilities between both countries." As of July 2009, the US was negotiating with Colombia to use Palanquero Air Base in Puerto Salgar
Puerto Salgar
Puerto Salgar is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. It has come to international attention since the US ambassador in Colombia announced the Palanquero Air Base had entered a recertification process, possibly in order to host US military personnel as a...
as Manta's replacement.
The last U.S. military anti-narcotics surveillance mission from Manta was flown on July 17, 2009.
See also
- Ecuador-United States relationsEcuador-United States relationsThe United States and Ecuador have maintained close ties based on mutual interests in maintaining democratic institutions; combating cannabis and cocaine; building trade, investment, and financial ties; cooperating in fostering Ecuador's economic development; and participating in inter-American...
- Guadalupe LarrivaGuadalupe LarrivaGuadalupe Larriva was an Ecuadorian politician. She was the head of the Ecuadorian Socialist Party-Broad Front , as well as the country's Defense Minister under President Rafael Correa...