Ecuador president seeks new constitution

QUITO

The president of violence-wracked Ecuador on Sept. 17 proposed the creation of a special body to draw up a new constitution with tougher laws against drug trafficking and organized crime.

President Daniel Noboa has seen numerous constitutional amendments slapped down by the country's highest court, a setback he now seeks to overcome.

Noboa, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, was reelected in April as voters endorsed his iron-fisted approach to rampant cartel violence that has transformed the country from one of Latin America's safest to one of its most dangerous.

Nestled between the world's biggest cocaine producers Colombia and Peru, Ecuador is the departure point for 70 percent of the world's supply of the drug, attracting criminal gangs from all over.

Most of the cocaine is destined for the United States.

Noboa on Sept. 17 proposed a referendum be held to approve the creation of a "constitutional assembly" to draw up a new constitution.

The new document would, in turn, also be put to a referendum.

The country's existing constitution dates from 2008 and banned the presence of U.S. military bases and troops on Ecuadoran soil, a situation the president wants to change.

"We present clear questions for the people to express their opinion," Noboa said on X.