Pubdate: Sun, 14 Nov 1999 Source: Washington Post (DC) Copyright: 1999 The Washington Post Company Page: 24 Address: 1150 15th Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20071 Feedback: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ Ecuador Grants U.S. Use Of Air Base QUITO--Ecuador has agreed to let the United States use one of its air bases for 10 years as part of regional efforts to crack down on drug trafficking. Under the deal, signed by Foreign Minister Benjamin Ortiz, unarmed U.S. surveillance planes will operate from the Manta military air base on Ecuador's coast. The U.S. aircraft will only be permitted to carry out anti-drug operations. As part of the deal, the United States, Ecuador's largest trading partner, will invest $70 million in the Manta air base over the course of the pact. Top U.S. anti-drug official Barry R. McCaffrey has said Ecuador is increasingly being used as a transit point for shipments of drugs from Bolivia, Peru and Colombia to the United States and Europe. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake