Manta Air Base
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| Manta Air Base Eloy Alfaro Air Base Eloy Alfaro International Airport |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: MEC - ICAO: SEMT | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Military/Public | ||
| Operator | Military of Ecuador | ||
| Serves | Manta | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 48 ft (15 m) | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 05/23 | 9,383 | 2,860 | Concrete |
Manta Air Base (also known as Eloy Alfaro Air Base) (IATA: MEC, ICAO: SEMT) 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 was inaugurated by the Ecuadorian air force on October 24, 1978.
The airport is currently used by the United States Air Force (USAF) division 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 the Ecuadorean government that allows the U.S. to station up 475 military personnel at Manta.[1] USAF AWACS E-3 and United States Navy P-3 Orion aircraft operated from the base to monitor air traffic in the area. The US aircraft based at Manta feed surveillence information to the Joint Interagency Task Force South in Key West. The aircraft at the base fly about 100 missions a month looking for drug-running boats departing Colombia. In 2007, the flights led to about 200 cocaine seizures.[2]
President Rafael Correa has promised that he will not renew the agreement that allows the United States access to the base when it expires in November 2009, unless the United States reciprocates by allowing Ecuador to build an air base in Miami, Florida.[3] On March 19, 2008 the Ecuadorian Constituent Assembly voted to outlaw the installation of any foreign military bases in Ecuador.[4] Admiral James Stavridis, chief of the US 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 US military would use existing air bases in El Salvador, Curacao, and Key West, Florida for drug-surveillance flights.[5]
The US is attempting to persuade Ecuador that hosting the American forces at Manta is of benefit to the country, pointing to the $71 million the US 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 US 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, supports keeping the Americans at Manta.[6]
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[edit] Airlines and destinations
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Anti-drug air base pact to be ended
- ^ Butler, Amy, "Down South: Regional cost-sharing seems an option for Central American AFs’ aging systems", Aviation Week & Space Technology, January 21, 2008, p. 34, Romero, Simon, "Ecuador Opposes Outpost In American War On Drugs", New York Times, May 12, 2008, Pg. 8.
- ^ Correa suggests base in Miami, The Washington Times, October 23, 2007
- ^ U.S. military base contract in Ecuador not to be renewed after 2009
- ^ Washington Post, April 22, 2008, p. 12
- ^ Wyss, Jim, "U.S. Base Is No Longer Welcome In Ecuador", Miami Herald, May 5, 2008, Pg. 1.
[edit] External links
- Aviación - Ala 23 "Eloy Alfaro "- Manta -, description in Spanish of Manta Air Base on the Web site of the Ecuadorian military
- Airport information for SEMT at World Aero Data
- Correa suggests base in Miami
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