Ecuadorean voters roundly rejected conservative President Daniel Noboa’s plans to allow a US military base and rewrite the constitution, dealing the Trump ally a heavy blow only months into his second term.
Noboa wanted new tools to fight a wave of drug-related murders and extortion that has terrified citizens in the once-tranquil Andean nation. But in a referendum on Sunday, more than 60 per cent of voters turned down his proposals to allow foreign military bases and create a new constitution.
Noboa, the 37-year-old son of a billionaire banana magnate, had triggered protests weeks earlier by cutting a popular but expensive subsidy on diesel fuel. Referendum voters also said No to cutting state funding for political parties and reducing the number of lawmakers.