Ecuador’s government has issued new rules granting US Department of Defense personnel visa‑free entry and judicial immunity for up to 180 days per year, according to an Interior Ministry agreement published as the US Southern Command chief visited Quito for security talks.
The agreement applies to members of the US Armed Forces, civilian employees of the Department of Defense, and workers of foreign companies contracted or subcontracted by that department. They will have up to 180 non‑renewable days per year, with multiple entries, through a registry called “Acts of Commerce and Activities,” without needing an Ecuadorian visa. To qualify, they must present a valid passport or US‑issued identification, along with a US Department of Defense movement order.
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The agreement also states that this personnel will not be subject to migration‑related sanctions or other administrative actions.
The regulation does not specify how many military personnel, civilians, or contractors might enter, nor does it clarify whether their names, companies, and functions must be registered, which provinces, installations, or ports they will operate in, if they will carry weapons or participate directly in attacks, which Ecuadorian authority will approve each mission, or which jurisdiction would investigate possible deaths or damages to civilians.
The publication of the agreement coincided with the visit to Ecuador of US Southern Command chief Francis Donovan, who met in Quito with Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo and the Ecuadorian military high command to discuss bilateral security cooperation and the fight against drug trafficking and transnational organized crime.
Personal militar de #EEUU en #Ecuador operará sin visa y con inmunidad
Los integrantes de las Fuerzas Armadas estadunidenses, empleados civiles del Departamento de Defensa, empresas extranjeras contratadas o subcontratadas por ese departamento y sus trabajadores no ecuatorianos… pic.twitter.com/AQ8izkvUT0
— David de la Paz 戴维 (@daviddelapaz) August 20, 2026
The meeting held on August 18 occurred two weeks after the Southern Command launched the Joint Task Force of the Western Hemisphere alongside the 18 countries that make up the Coalition Against Cartels of the Americas, which includes Ecuador.
The Andean nation has been under an internal armed conflict declared by President Daniel Noboa since January 2024 against a series of criminal groups, which the government classifies as terrorists.
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