U.S. military personnel involved in President Donald Trump's expanding operations in Latin America have been asked to sign non-disclosure agreements, three U.S. officials said.
The development raises new questions about the military buildup that Venezuela fears could lead to an invasion, Reuters reported.
The move is highly unusual, given that the U.S. military is already required to keep national security secrets out of the public eye, and comes at a time when lawmakers in Congress say they have not been briefed on key aspects of the mission.
Officials who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, did not know how many members of the U.S. Department of Defense were asked to sign the agreements and did not provide further details about the scope of the nondisclosure agreements.
While the Defense Department has turned to nondisclosure agreements from time to time since Pete Hegseth became defense secretary in January, the Pentagon's use of nondisclosure agreements specific to Latin American activities has not been reported before.
The Pentagon announced last week the deployment of the aircraft carrier "Gerald Ford" to Latin America, escalating a military buildup that experts say far exceeds any requirements for counternarcotics operations - the stated goal of the U.S. mission so far.
Since early September, U.S. forces have carried out at least 13 strikes on suspected drug ships, mostly in the Caribbean, killing about 57 people. The Pentagon has provided few details about the people targeted in the strikes, but has confirmed that they include individuals from Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador.
The carrier strike group adds about 10,000 troops and massive firepower to a military buildup that already includes guided missile destroyers, F-35 fighter jets, a nuclear submarine and about 6,500 troops.
The Pentagon has not explained why such firepower is needed for counter-narcotics operations.
Hegseth has taken a number of measures to try to control the flow of information since taking over the Pentagon in January.