Dominican president says US has been granted airport access for anti-drug missions until April
'As was said on the day of the signing, last Wednesday, it lasts until April of next year,' says Luis Abinader
WASHINGTON
The Dominican Republic's deal with the US to allow American personnel to temporarily use restricted areas of two airports in the Caribbean country for anti-drug operations will be in effect until April 2026, President Luis Abinader said Monday.
"As was said on the day of the signing, last Wednesday, it lasts until April of next year," Abinader said in his translated remarks during a weekly news conference.
Last week, along with Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth in the capital Santo Domingo, Abinader said his country authorized the US to use restricted areas at San Isidro Air Base and Las Americas International Airport "for a limited time" to combat drug trafficking in the Caribbean.
Abinader said the deal is based on the bilateral legal framework established in 1995 anti-drug agreements and expanded by a protocol in 2003.
The announcement follows a series of Pentagon operations targeting vessels it claims are smuggling narcotics in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, with US forces carrying out over 20 strikes since September that have resulted in at least 83 deaths.
