US To Use Galapagos Island As Military Airfield

https://crooksandliars.com/2019/06/us-use-galapagos-island-military-airfield

WTF

One of my dear friends decided to spend several months traveling through South America with her new husband. I was so jealous, as I felt stuck at home with two very young children. Keri sent me pictures of them hiking in Peru, dancing in Brazil, and getting up close to blue-footed boobies in the Galapagos. The Galapagos Islands in particular fascinated me. This fragile ecology that was home to species seen nowhere else. In the back of my mind, I put that on my bucket list of things to do when I was no longer hip deep in diapers and playgroup dates.

But it looks like I may have waited too late to get to the Galapagos. The Independent reports that Equador has granted the US permission to use the Galapagos for a military airfield:

Ecuador has given the US military permission to use a Galapagos island as an airfield, angering critics in the South American country who say the agreement is unconstitutional.

Under a deal with Ecuador’s right-wing government, the Pentagon will use the tiny airport on San Cristobal island to “fight drug trafficking”, defence minister Oswaldo Jarrin said.