President Luis Abinader authorized the provisional use of the Las Americas International Airport and San Isidro Air Base for military and drug combating operations of the US Department of War (Defense). The announcement was made during a press conference following the meeting of President Abinader with visiting US Secretary of War (Defense) Pete Hegseth.
The visiting defense official said that the Dominican Republic is now a regional leader. He said “the Dominican Republic has stepped up.”
“The Dominican Republic has emerged as a regional leader, prepared and willing to face difficult challenges, that is why I am here today. We recognize the leadership of your President and this country,” Hegseth said in his remarks after the meeting with President Luis Abinader.
He spoke of the participation of the country in “leading international coalitions to improve security in Haiti.” He said the situation with Haiti was also discussed during his visit. President Abinader did not mention Haiti in his remarks on the meting with Hegseth. The Dominican Republic carries a heavy burden for the multidimensional crisis in Haiti where gangs maintain control driving mass migration to the Dominican Republic. Haiti is regarded as a major drug and firearms transshipment point in the Americas. The DR for decades has rejected being involved in any military intervention in Haiti, outside of humanitarian support, such as health services.
The Presidency press release described the meetings as aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking and expanding joint regional security actions.
The Dominican Presidency reported that the visit by the senior US official underscores the United States’ confidence in the progress made by the Dominican Republic and the coordination mechanisms both nations have developed to counter the escalating drug trade in the region.
Secretary Hegseth was received at the Presidential Palace Minister of the Presidency, José Ignacio Paliza; the Minister of Defense, Lieutenant General Carlos Antonio Fernández Onofre.
The US Secretary held a private meeting with President Abinader in the White Room. The Presidency highlights that the encounter marks a decisive step in the joint agenda the two countries have pursued in recent years, an agenda built upon the US’s trust in the Dominican Republic’s advances in regional security.
The Presidency reports that the visit further reaffirms the confidence placed in the Dominican Republic by the United States, which is also reflected in US support for the Dominican national Leandro Villanueva’s candidacy for director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). If successful, this would be the first time a Dominican national has held the position.
President Abinader has repeatedly stressed that cooperation with the United States is essential for strengthening the country’s capabilities against transnational criminal organizations. “This is a constant struggle, especially with the increase in cocaine production in various countries in the region,” he has stated.
After the meeting, President Abinader and US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced the Dominican Republic has authorized the United States government to provisionally expand cooperation and the right to use (for technical, limited and provisional scope) two Dominican airports for an anti-narcotics push. The use would be part of the regional anti-drug trafficking effort known as Operation South Lance.
President Abinader in his remarks during the presentation of the agreements to the press said that each operation at the airports would be with prior authorization by Dominican authorities, and with the participation of the local Ministry of Defense and National Drug Control Agency directors.
There will be assigned restricted areas at Las Americas and San Isidro Air Force base airports for logistics, fueling, transport of equipment and technical personnel. The purpose of the exercise is to strengthen the ring of air and maritime protection of the Dominican armed forces. The intent is to impede the entry of narcotics and deliver a blow to transnational organized crime.
President Abinader said the joint effort is intended to strengthen our sovereignty especially in air spaces. “Thanks to this synergy with our most important strategic partner, the United States, we strengthen surveillance and operative capacity of our armed forces. We close criminal routes and reduce the corrupting influence of narco cartels,” he stated.
In his remarks, the US Secretary of War spoke of reaffirming an already strong and longstanding partnership and cooperation. He defended US actions saying that “force and swift action is the only language narco terrorists understand.”
He told the attending at the Presidential Palace that “the US has the best intelligence, lawyers and process, and knows where the drug networks and organizations come from, where they are going, what they bring, their intentions, who they represent”. He said that “by offensively waging war the intention is to change the dynamics for the entire region and bring stability and security to our partners.”
Hegseth praised the Dominican Republic for “standing up to predatory practices of other countries and leading.” “The Dominican Republic has acted and we trust the Dominican Republic will continue to lead in the fight against drug terrorists,” he remarked.
He gave thanks for what he described as the provisional deployment of us troops and aircraft conducting Operation Southern Sphere, a provisional one, respecting sovereignty and laws and dynamics in the Dominican Republic.
“It is a great partnership and joint initiative against narco trafficking and narco terrorism. I think it is a model for the region that we hope to expand with other countries,” he said. “That they get the message we are partnering with more forces to stop them,” he remarked.
“The Department of War is working with you for mutual benefit. I think this is an important difference in how we operate, not just what we need, or what we can do together aggressively,” he concluded.
As per the agreement, the airports, the Las Américas International Airport and the San Isidro Airbase, both located in the province of Santo Domingo, will dedicate areas for the transit of equipment and technical personnel supporting Washington’s Caribbean operations.
Abinader did not provide extensive details on the scope of the collaboration, but indicated that it falls under “special permits” historically granted to the United States within existing bilateral security cooperation protocols.
The Dominican government had previously framed Hegseth’s visit as a move to strengthen the two nations’ joint fight against international drug trafficking. The timing coincides with an active US operation targeting and destroying speedboats departing from South America, which the administration of US President Donald Trump has asserted were destined for the United States.
The announcement comes as the United States ramps up pressure on Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, whom Washington accuses of heading a drug cartel. Venezuelan strongman Diosdado Cabello called the approval to use Dominican airports an “imperial madness.”
Present for the press conference were the Dominican minister of Foreign Relations, Defense and of the Presidency, the director of Migration, the director of the National Police, the director of the National Drug Control Agency and the US ambassador. Also present were First Lady Raquel Arbaje and Jennifer Rauchet, wife of Hegseth and mother of their seven children.
Former Dominican ambassador in Washington, Bernardo Vega remarked that the announcement of the airport support is to step up the US pressure on the Maduro government in Venezuela. He expressed his concern over what this action could mean for the Dominican Republic. In an interview with journalist Alicia Ortega, Vega stated that while the Dominican President could not outright reject the US security measure, it would have been prudent to negotiate reciprocal benefits. Vega suggested that the government should have sought concessions such as financing to combat armed groups in Haiti and the exoneration of the 10% tariff on Dominican exports. These exports include crucial products like sugar, coffee, cacao, and goods from free-trade zones.
Furthermore, the historian questioned the need the US may really have for operating from Dominican territory, when the US already maintains several nearby strategic facilities in key locations, including Puerto Rico, Guantánamo, and El Salvador.
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Americas Quarterly
27 November 2025