WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- The United States is losing access to one of its three counternarcotics bases in Latin America , U.S. military officials said Wednesday . The Ecuadorian government has told the Bush administration it will not renew a 10-year agreement letting U.S. troops conduct anti-drug operations from Manta Air Base , an Ecuadorian Air Force installation , military officials said . The United States has used Manta Air Base since 1999 to run aerial surveillance of the eastern Pacific Ocean , looking for drug runners on the high seas as well as illicit flights . Ecuador notified the U.S. Embassy on Tuesday that it will not renew the agreement after it expires in November 2009 , the U.S. military officials said . `` The Ecuadorian people do not want foreign troops on our soil , and the government has to follow the mandate of its people , '' Luis Gallegos , Ecuador 's ambassador to the United States , said Wednesday . `` We have spent more than $ 150 million on troops to monitor the border with Colombia and will continue to support anti-narcotics operations in our country , '' Gallegos said . The U.S. State Department 's reaction to the announcement was mixed . `` The operations there are critical to our overall counternarcotics strategy , but Ecuador has promised continued close cooperation to confront the threat of drug smuggling , '' said Heidi Bronke , a spokeswoman for the department . State Department chief spokesman Sean McCormack said the decision was Ecuador 's to make . `` We note , however , that the closure will leave a serious gap in efforts by the United States and our partners to confront illegal drug trafficking throughout the region , '' he added . Up to eight planes fly missions from Manta . About 250 U.S. military personnel and civilians work there . Since the start of U.S. operations there , about 60 percent of the drug interdictions in the eastern Pacific have involved the planes based out of Manta , including the capture of more than 200 metric tons of drugs in 2007 , according to U.S. military officials . State Department officials said they could not talk about plans to move the mission to another country . Manta is the only U.S. base in South America . The U.S. military operates two other counternarcotics bases in the region : a naval operation in El Salvador and an air operation in Curacao in the Caribbean .
Deal that expires next year lets U.S. conduct anti-drug operations from Ecuador . Citizens `` do not want foreign troops on our soil , '' Ecuadorian ambassador says . U.S. State Department spokesman : Move will leave `` serious gap '' in anti-drug effort .