Ecuadorian voters roundly rejected the return of US military bases to the country in a referendum on Sunday, a major political blow to Trump-friendly President Daniel Noboa.

With three-quarters of the vote counted, about 60 per cent of Ecuadorans had voted ‘no’ to lifting a long-standing ban on foreign bases.

The rejection effectively blocks the US military from returning to an airbase at Manta on the Pacific coast - once a hub for Washington’s anti-drug operations. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem recently toured military facilities in Manta and an airbase in Salinas alongside Noboa.

The vote was a serious defeat for Noboa, who has staked his political fortunes on tackling rampant cartel violence and forging an alliance with US President Donald Trump.

Recently, Noboa met with US officials to discuss regional security and migration cooperation and gave US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem a tour of a military base along Ecuador’s coast that could possibly host US troops.