ECUADOREAN PERCEPTIONS OF EXTRNAL THREATS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP08C01297R000700120010-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 26, 2012
• Sequence Number: 10
• Publication Date: September 5, 1970
• Content Type: CABLE

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/12/12 : CIA-RDP08CO1297R000700120010-3
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Department of State
Amconsul GUAYAQUIL
Amembassy BOGOTA, LIMA,
USCINCSO/POLAD
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September 1970
reats
RIO de JANEIR
DATE: 5
SUBJECT: Ecuadorean Perceptions of External Th
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Introduction
ation of Ecuadorean governments with the
u
p
The preocc
threat of possible dismemberment or loss of territory dates
from colonial times and is firmly rooted in Ecuadorean
history. In recent years this preoccupation has been sub-
ordinated to the more pressing domestic problems of economic
and social development, but nonetheless it continues to
influence Ecuadorean attitudes.
At present the possibility of eventual attack from
Peru or Colombia, or conceivably even Brazil, against
Ecuador's Oriente in the Amazon Basin, the site of rapidly
developing cd_l fields, is being expressed by influential
members of the Ecuadorean military, who are reportedly
arguing that the purchase of sophisticated and up-to-date
military equipment is. necessary to defend Ecuador's
frontiers.
This paper examines the basis for Ecuadorean fears
regarding their neighbors; the extent to which such fears
are held by members of the government; and the appropriateness
of the reported proposed military purchases as a response
to the possible threats.
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