ECUADOR ORDERS US MILITARY GROUP TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY

The government of Ecuador has ordered the the entire US Military Group Ecuador (USMilgroup), approximately twenty Defense Department civilians, and active-duty US military, out of the country. They have been told to leave Ecuador before the first of May. The Milgroup, which has assisted the Ecuadorian military for the past forty years, has not been charged with any misconduct, has been a target of Ecuador's radical leftist President, Rafael Correa, in recent months. Correa has indicated his opposition to any close relationships between the Milgroup and the Ecuadoran military officer corps.

Though there were no specific allegations, Correa has made some vague remarks  about the conduct of the Milgroup. Correa shut down the US counter-drug aviation operation in Manta, Ecuador, soon after taking office in 2007. Diplomatic relations with the United States have been cool in recent years, and thus latest Ecuadorian effort, to further reduce the US presence  there, could result in an increase in the level of Country Risk for Ecuador, especially where it applies to US companies and investors.