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

With three-quarters of the vote counted, about 60% of Ecuadorians had voted "no" to lifting a longstanding 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.

It is 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.

The vote came against the backdrop of deadly US military airstrikes against boats in the Caribbean and Pacific which Washington claims were smuggling drugs – a divisive policy which Noboa has backed.

"They wanted to scrap our rights, sell our sovereignty and hand it to Trump so he could install gringo military bases," said Ricardo Moreno (70).

Nearly 14 million Ecuadorians were eligible to cast ballots on whether to overturn a 2008 ban on foreign military bases.

Voters were also asked three other questions: whether they should end public funding for political parties, reduce the number of lawmakers, and create an elected body that would draft a new constitution.

The early count showed those proposals failing by a large margin, too.

"We respect the will of the Ecuadorian people," Noboa said, accepting the result.

Noboa had hoped a new constitution would give him more powers to tackle crime, curb the power of the judiciary, and reform the economy.

The result is a shock. Polls had predicted that Noboa would win on all four questions, and he remains popular, having recently won a second term in office.

But Sunday's result carried signs that under pressure from still-high crime rates, Noboa's luster may be dimming.

"I had the wrong idea about him. I made a mistake, I voted for him," said 23 year old Andres Delgado, a university student. "I'm celebrating because the nation should not be treated this way by this inept president."

Noboa won on a promise to tackle violence sparked by turf wars between drug trafficking gangs who transport cocaine from Latin America to North America, Europe, and Asia. He has deployed soldiers on the streets and in prisons, launched dramatic raids on alleged drug strongholds, and declared frequent states of emergency – criticized by human rights groups.

The 37-year-old Porsche-driving millionaire has also posted images of hundreds of incarcerated people, their heads shaved, in orange uniforms being moved to a new mega-prison, echoing moves by El Salvador's Nayib Bukele.

Still, in the first half of this year, there were 4,619 murders – the "highest in recent history," according to Ecuador's Organized Crime Observatory.

Just as voting began, Noboa announced that the leader of the country's most notorious gang, Los Lobos, had been captured.

The most-wanted drug kingpin known as "Pipo" had "faked his death, changed his identity, and hid in Europe," Noboa said on X.

Once much safer, Ecuador now has one of the highest homicide rates in Latin America, and some would like to give Noboa freer rein.

"It is the only way to toughen the laws a bit and put an end to the insecurity our country is experiencing," Teresa Jacome (60) told AFP in the largest city of Guayaquil.

Regarding the other questions on the ballot, Noboa argued the current constitution, at 400-plus articles, was too long and has "many errors."

But he had been coy about what parts of the constitution he would like to change, leading to allegations he wants to consolidate power and curb rights.

The body to draft a new constitution would likely be dominated by Noboa's allies, given his approval rating of around 56%.