Radio Cadena Agramonte emisiora de Camagüey
Dominican Republic, November 27 - The Dominican Republic authorized the use of its air bases on Wednesday for U.S. troops to carry out logistical activities as part of the Pentagon's operation in the Caribbean Sea known as ¨Southern Spear¨.
The news was announced by Dominican President Luis Abinader during a joint press conference with the Secretary of Defense of the Donald Trump administration, Pete Hegseth, with whom he held a bilateral meeting moments earlier at the National Palace in Santo Domingo.
"We have authorized the U.S., for a limited time, to use restricted areas at San Isidro Air Base and Las Américas International Airport for the logistical operation of refueling aircraft, transport of equipment, and technical personnel," Abinader stated.
The Dominican president explained that this measure has a "clear purpose," which is to "strengthen the air and sea protection ring" maintained by the armed forces of both countries, as part of "a decisive reinforcement to prevent the entry of narcotics and to strike more forcefully at transnational organized crime."
Abinader commented that the measure is being implemented under the current legal framework and prior agreements established with the U.S. He also noted that it is a temporary expansion of bilateral cooperation "to strengthen air and maritime surveillance against drug trafficking." These operations, the president added, will be carried out as long as the Dominican Republic endorses and supports the actions planned by the Pentagon. "Its scope is technical, limited, and temporary," the head of state assured.
For his part, Hegseth affirmed that the agreement is "provisional" and will respect the "laws" and "sovereignty" of the Dominican Republic. "It's a great partnership, a joint initiative against drug trafficking and narco-terrorism," said the Secretary of Defense, who described the pact as "a model for the region" that the U.S. hopes to "expand with other countries that want to partner" with Washington in the fight against "narco-terrorists."
The US Secretary of War arrived in the Dominican Republic on Wednesday just as the Donald Trump administration is increasing tensions and threats against Venezuela, as part of its "maximum pressure" policy and continued aggression against the South American country.
According to the Dominican press, the head of the Pentagon arrived at Las Américas International Airport on the Caribbean island at 12:55 p.m., with the aim of strengthening bilateral cooperation with one of its most stable allies in the region, and in this case, as part of its extraterritorial policy of combating "narco-terrorism" in the Caribbean Sea.
Hegseth's arrival comes amid a tense geopolitical climate due to the massive presence of Southern Command troops in the Caribbean, a situation that has caused serious friction with Venezuela and Colombia and raised alarms in other countries such as Mexico and Brazil, which, like Cuba, Nicaragua, and other nations, condemn the bombings and military attacks against civilian vessels in the region.
The presence of the War official in the Caribbean also adds to what Venezuela has described as a campaign of terror with which Washington is trying to pressure the entire region under the pretext of attacking alleged drug trafficking organizations.
These actions, Caracas warns, are being carried out by the Pentagon to try to seize political power from President Nicolás Maduro by force and install a "puppet government" that would allow it to control all of Venezuela's natural and energy resources.
The geopolitical move, in which the U.S. also seeks to curb the strong alliances and cooperation of countries like China and Russia in the region, comes after the Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, visited Trinidad and Tobago, a neighboring country of Venezuela, on Tuesday to meet with the Prime Minister of that Caribbean country, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, amid this new escalation of threats from the Trump administration against Caracas. (Text and Photo: Cubadebate)
