The masked officers from the special „Fulger” brigade of the police in the Republic of Moldova received equipment worth $320,000 as a donation from the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the U.S. Department of State on Wednesday.
The donation was made at a time when the U.S. is cutting budgets and suspending a large part of its foreign aid.
CBS News reported, citing internal documents, that the U.S. is seeking to conclude deportation agreements with distant countries, including the Republic of Moldova.
The "Fulger" officers received "gas masks, holographic sights, and accessories for the modernization of weapons, designed to improve response capability and operational efficiency," writes NewsMaker.
The donation is intended to support the operational readiness of the brigade.
"Stronger partners make the United States safer, preventing local security threats from becoming metastases and reaching U.S. territory," wrote the State Department's Bureau X.
Trump would like to deport immigrants to Moldova
President Trump's administration has approached distant countries, including the Republic of Moldova, to assist in its mass deportation efforts of illegal immigrants, asking these countries to accept individuals who are not their citizens, according to internal government documents obtained by CBS News.
The discussions are part of an intense diplomatic campaign by the Trump administration to convince as many countries - including those with controversial human rights records - to accept individuals expelled from the U.S., such as immigrants whose home countries will not take them back.
The administration has already negotiated agreements with several countries in Latin America willing to accept immigrants who are not their citizens. In February, the U.S. deported hundreds of African and Asian immigrants to Costa Rica and Panama.
In March, the Trump administration sent nearly 300 Venezuelans accused of being part of gangs in El Salvador, which imprisoned them in a mega-prison.
The Mexican government, as part of an agreement preceding Trump's second term, received immigrants from other Latin American countries, such as Venezuela, caught illegally crossing the southern U.S. border.
However, behind the scenes, the Trump administration has negotiated with countries outside the Western Hemisphere to send immigrants thousands of kilometers away, across the Atlantic Ocean, to locations in Africa and Europe. Eastern hemisphere countries identified by the Trump administration as potential places to accept deportations of citizens from third countries include Angola, Benin, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Libya, Rwanda, and Moldova, according to internal government documents and officials.
The United States has not yet announced any official agreements with these countries. The Wall Street Journal reported on internal discussions with some of these countries in April, also mentioning the Republic of Moldova.