QUITO, Sept 20, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Ecuador's president formally called Friday for a referendum that he hopes will lift a decades-old ban on foreign military bases on Ecuadoran soil, as he seeks US help to curb rampant cartel-related violence.

Daniel Noboa has staked his political fortunes on reducing record murder rates, but his country -- once among the safest in Latin America -- is still one of the most dangerous.

The country's 2008 constitution banned US military bases and troops from Ecuadoran soil at the encouragement of leftist leader Rafael Correa.

Noboa hopes to change that and has sought to develop close security and economic ties with US President Donald Trump.

For years, the United States operated an important military base at the Pacific port of Manta, and the US Drug Enforcement Administration had a sizeable footprint in the country.

Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Ecuador, promising more security aid and raising the prospect of sending US troops.

"If they invite us to return, we will consider it very seriously," Rubio said.

Ecuador is nestled between the world's biggest cocaine producers, Colombia and Peru, and is home to several deep-water ports that have attracted cartels, mafias, and criminal gangs from around the world.

Ecuador is believed to be the departure point for 70 percent of the world's supply of cocaine.

Most is destined for the United States, but important quantities also reach Europe, Australia, and Asia.

Noboa is also hoping to appoint a commission to make sweeping constitutional reforms.

But that plan, and the plan to host foreign bases, face legal hurdles.

The constitutional court must approve the plans, and has previously been hostile to Noboa's reforms.

Rights groups say Noboa's use of the military to tackle drug violence and use of rolling decrees to establish a state of emergency have corroded Ecuador's democracy.

One group, Freedom House, earlier this year said Noboa's policies had led to "arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial killings, and enforced disappearances."