Dominican Republic Grants U.S. Access as Trump Signals 'Very Soon' Land Measures in Venezuela Drug Fight

Overview

• President Luis Abinader authorized U.S. use of restricted areas at Las Américas Airport and the San Isidro Air Base for time-limited logistics and aerial and maritime surveillance support.
• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited Santo Domingo and said the U.S. is ready to go on offense as the USS Gerald R. Ford, warships and F-35s patrol the region, while Joint Chiefs chair Gen. Dan Caine held talks in Trinidad and Tobago.
• Trump said actions to deter traffickers on land will start very soon, though U.S. officials say there is no current plan to capture or kill Nicolás Maduro.
• Since September, U.S. forces have struck about 20 suspected trafficking boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, with roughly 83 reported deaths and mounting legal and human-rights criticism.
• Washington’s campaign follows its designation of Venezuela’s ‘Cartel de los Soles’ as a foreign terrorist organization, an allegation Caracas rejects as fabricated and unlawful.