
Ecuadorians are set to decide whether to allow foreign military bases to return to the country in a referendum scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 16. The vote could reopen the door to a U.S. presence in the South American nation, an idea the Trump administration has expressed interest in pursuing.
Ecuador has a long history of hosting foreign military bases. The U.S. operated a base in the coastal city of Manta during World War II and again from 1999 to 2009. But a constitutional change under then-President Rafael Correa later banned foreign military outposts.