The President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, and the United States Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, announced this Wednesday an agreement for the temporary use of two Dominican airports, the Las Américas International Airport and the San Isidro Military Airport, as part of Operation Southern Spear, focused on the supposed fight against drug trafficking in the Caribbean.
The agreement, detailed after a meeting at the National Palace, will allow Washington to allocate areas for the transport of equipment and technical personnel, within the framework of bilateral security cooperation protocols.
Abinader emphasized that this collaboration is based on “special permits” already established between the two countries, without specifying timelines or operational details.
The measure coincides with the growing threats from the United States against Venezuela and operations to destroy boats coming from South America that, according to the Trump administration, are used for drug trafficking, a claim for which no evidence has been provided in any case.
“This fight against drug trafficking is a priority for your administration, as it is a threat that affects national and regional stability,” Abinader stated, emphasizing that “no country can or should face it without allies.”
Hegseth, the first U.S. Secretary of Defense to officially visit the Dominican Republic, thanked the administration for the support provided and praised the country as a “regional leader” in the fight against drugs.
“U.S. actions are the ‘only language’ that drug traffickers and terrorist organizations understand,” he declared, emphasizing that “President Trump believes in and strengthens these alliances” in an operation that, according to the White House, seeks to protect borders and save lives.
However, to date, the Pentagon’s military deployment in the Caribbean has resulted in approximately 80 deaths in attacks on boats in that area and in the Pacific. Experts have deemed these attacks extrajudicial killings, and there are allegations that they are part of a strategy to pressure Venezuela. Meanwhile, human rights organizations have questioned the militarization of anti-drug strategies.
This month, Dominican authorities reported the seizure of 1,290 packages of drugs in two operations. In response, Hegseth reiterated the commitment of both governments to “seek security so that our countries continue to prosper.” Abinader, for his part, emphasized the need for multilateral coordination in the face of a phenomenon that transcends borders.
The authorization to use Dominican airports expands the United States’ military presence in the Caribbean and could have a greater impact on the regional landscape.
Operation Southern Spear, announced as a measure to combat drug trafficking, is in practice a large-scale military deployment involving robotic systems and the deployment of the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford.
Hegseth has written in X that “the Western Hemisphere is America’s neighborhood and we will protect it,” which has reminded many of the persistence of the Monroe Doctrine in the current US administration’s vision.
IMAGE CREDIT: President Abinader and the U.S. Secretary of War have announced an agreement for the temporary use of two Dominican airports by the U.S. Photo: EFE.
[ SOURCE: teleSUR ]
