“It is part of the programs being negotiated with Secretary of State Marco Rubio,” said Sommerfeld, who added that the US official will arrive in Quito on the evening of September 3.

According to the minister, what Ecuador is negotiating with the Donald Trump administration is a limited program, different from that of El Salvador, which receives migrants in its maximum security prisons.

It would be “only refugees of certain nationalities who have no criminal record, are in good health, and are not ill,” and up to 300 people per year, the Ecuadorian foreign minister asserted.

The foreign minister also stated that there is a possibility of establishing a US base on Ecuadorian soil; however, this depends on the public’s decision in the upcoming referendum, which will address constitutional reforms to allow foreign troops on national territory, a requirement prohibited by the Constitution.

Regarding Rubio’s visit to meet with President Daniel Noboa, Sommerfeld indicated that they will discuss security issues and the fight against organized crime, the fight against irregular migration because “Ecuador is in favor of safe migration,” and issues of trade cooperation.

The US secretary’s presence in these Andean territories raised questions, including from former President Rafael Correa and former Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Fernando Yepez Lasso.

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