The government repealed the administrative rules implementing the bilateral Status of Forces Agreement without changing the accord itself.
Ecuador has repealed the administrative regulations that governed how authorities applied the Status of Forces Agreement with the United States, removing the internal procedures previously used to process the entry of U.S. military personnel into the country.
RELATED: Chile and Ecuador Leaders Arrive for Mercosur Summit
The measure was enacted through Ministerial Agreement MDI-DMI-2026-0056, published on July 3, 2026, in Ecuador’s Official Registry. It revokes the 2024 ministerial agreement that instructed Ecuadorian institutions, particularly the Interior Ministry’s Undersecretariat for Migration, on how to implement the bilateral accord.
Agreement remains unchanged
The repeal does not affect the Status of Forces Agreement signed by Ecuador and the United States. Instead, it eliminates the domestic regulations that established how Ecuadorian authorities were to apply its provisions.
The agreement governs the temporary presence in Ecuador of U.S. military personnel, civilian employees of the U.S. Department of Defense, and contractors participating in activities including military training, exercises, security cooperation, emergency response, and other missions agreed upon by both governments.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
Una publicación compartida por Radio Pichincha Multimedios (@radiopichinchamultimedios)
It also sets the conditions under which those personnel may enter Ecuador and defines the benefits, exemptions, and immunities that apply during their stay.
The regulations adopted in July 2024 under then Interior Minister Mónica Palencia did not alter the bilateral agreement. Rather, they detailed the procedures Ecuadorian authorities were required to follow, including the migration status to be granted to U.S. personnel, the documents migration officials had to review, the verification of U.S.-issued movement orders, and the process to follow when entry requirements were not met.
Internal migration procedures repealed
With the repeal signed by Interior Minister John Reimberg, those administrative procedures are no longer in force.
The new ministerial agreement instructs the Undersecretariat for Migration to implement the decision but introduces no replacement procedures and makes no changes to the Status of Forces Agreement itself.
Under Article 2 of the agreement, “United States personnel may enter and leave Ecuadorian territory with United States identification and collective movement orders or individual travel orders.”
From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.