The United States is aiming to allow further deployments of troops and aircraft to tackle drug trafficking, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday.
Speaking in the Dominican Republic, which has authorised the temporary deployment of U.S. elements, Hegseth said he was hoping other countries would accept U.S. military presence on their soil.
"A model that we hope to expand with other countries that want to associate with us to ensure that the drug terrorists... receive this message that we are associating with more countries, with more elements to stop them," Hegseth said.
He added that the Dominican Republic will continue to help lead the fight against drug traffickers.
The U.S. has ramped up operations in the Caribbean in recent months, including strikes against alleged drug-trafficking vessels which have killed dozens.
Washington says the move is to combat what it has portrayed as President Nicolas Maduro's role in supplying illegal drugs that have killed Americans. Maduro has denied the allegations and says U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to oust him.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said repeatedly he is not pursuing regime change.
Meanwhile, Venezuela has revoked operating rights for six major international airlines after they suspended flights to the country following a warning from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.
Venezuela's civil aviation authority revoked permits for Iberia, TAP, Avianca, Latam Colombia, Turkish Airlines and Gol, with Caracas saying in a statement that the carriers had "joined actions of state terrorism promoted by the United States" by "unilaterally" halting commercial flights.
The U.S. FAA last week warned major airlines of a "potentially hazardous situation" when flying over Venezuela due to the "worsening security situation and heightened military activity in or around" the country.
Caracas said the U.S. safety alert says has no authority over its airspace.
Several international airlines have cancelled flights to Venezuela in recent days, ignoring Caracas's 48-hour deadline to resume services.
Iberia said it wishes to restart flights to Venezuela as soon as full safety conditions are in place.
Air Europa and Plus Ultra had suspended flights but did not have their permits revoked.
Armenia has been stripped of its voting rights in the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) over unpaid membership fees, in an...
Investigators found a sticky note bearing the names and mobile phone numbers of four left-wing public figures while searching the home of the suspe...
The United States and China should have “no illusions” about their differences on artificial intell...
Delegations from Russia, Ukraine and the United States met in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday for their first formal talks in nine months. They did so with no agreement on what a ceasefire would be tied to or who gets to keep the land currently under Russian control.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres delivered a stark warning at this year's COP31 summit, saying the climate crisis iss advancing faster than governments' efforts to contain it.
At least 17 people have been reported killed in an explosion at a steel plant in western Türkiye, after a crane collapsed during maintenance work. The disaster has prompted a criminal investigation into what went wrong at the industrial facility.
U.S. envoy Jared Kushner said Washington believes the Russian President is prepared to reach a peace agreement under the right conditions, as U.S., Russian and Ukrainian delegations began trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday 10 November.
Armenia could lose its voting rights within the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) on 11 November after failing to pay membership fees for more than two years, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.
Investigators found a sticky note bearing the names and mobile phone numbers of four left-wing public figures while searching the home of the suspect in last month’s deadly shooting near Paris, France’s national anti-terrorism prosecution office (PNAT) said on Wednesday.
The United States and China should have “no illusions” about their differences on artificial intelligence, even as they work together to manage the technology’s risks, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said.
Pope Leo arrived in Peru on Wednesday for an emotional homecoming, the first Peruvian citizen to lead the Catholic Church, after wrapping up a visit to Argentina that drew a record six million people over three days.
Iran will not let a single particle of its enriched nuclear material leave the country, and any new U.S. attack would be met with strikes on distant American bases, Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei has said.
Four million workers across Spain joined a general strike on Wednesday over the country’s deepening housing crisis, unions said, bringing disruption to factories, ports, shops and public transport just weeks before a snap general election.
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