US military officials involved in President Donald Trump’s operations in Latin America have been asked to sign non-disclosure agreements, Reuters quoted three officials as saying.
The officials said they
did not know how many members of the US Defense Department had been asked to sign the agreements.
While the department has often got the officials sign the NDAs since Pete Hegseth became defense secretary in January, CNN reported that the Pentagon’s use of non-disclosure agreements specific to activities in Latin America has not been previously reported.
Last week, the Pentagon announced the deployment of Gerald Ford aircraft carrier group to Latin America.
So far, the US military has carried out 13 strikes against alleged drug vessels, mostly in the Caribbean, since September. A total of 57 people have been killed in the incidents.
Recently, Senator Lindsey Graham, a senior Republican lawmaker with close ties to Trump, said Trump would soon outline to Congress “future potential military operations against Venezuela and Colombia.”
According to Reuters, tensions between the United States and Colombia have spiked in recent days, with Trump accusing Colombian President Gustavo Petro of being an “illegal drug leader” and a “bad guy” – language Petro’s government says is offensive. Washington on Friday imposed sanctions on Petro.
The Senator said Trump has the authority to carry out operations in Latin America.
“These military assets are moving forward to deal with a country that’s got blood on its hands when it comes to Americans by flooding our country with drugs from Venezuela and Colombia,” he said.
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