The Status of Forces Agreement, or SOFA, was approved by Paraguay’s Chamber of Deputies with 53 votes in favor, eight against and four abstentions out of 80 lawmakers, while 15 were absent. The agreement now awaits the signature of President Santiago Peña before taking effect.

The deal, signed in Washington in December, establishes the legal framework governing the presence of U.S. personnel in Paraguay for training exercises, joint operations and humanitarian assistance missions.

The agreement allows U.S. security forces to operate temporarily within Paraguay for military training, multinational exercises and disaster response efforts. It also grants the United States criminal jurisdiction over its personnel while they are stationed in the country.

Paraguayan Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano described the agreement in December as a measure aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation in combating transnational organized crime and terrorism. He also said the agreement does not allow the establishment of permanent U.S. military bases in Paraguay.

The treaty had already been approved by Paraguay’s Senate last week following a more polarized debate that included concerns from some lawmakers about sovereignty and legal protections granted to foreign personnel.

Several legislators opposed the agreement, arguing that provisions granting immunity from local prosecution could undermine national sovereignty. Independent congressman Raúl Benítez said during the debate that while Paraguay supports international cooperation, it must also preserve “strong states, respected institutions and real democratic sovereignty.

”Civil society groups also criticized the pact ahead of the vote. The regional organization Peace and Justice Service said in a statement that security should not depend on the presence of foreign troops or legal protections equivalent to diplomatic immunity.

Washington welcomed the deal as part of broader security cooperation in the region. Marco Rubio, the U.S. secretary of state, described the agreement as “historic,” saying it would facilitate bilateral and multinational training, humanitarian assistance and disaster response.

The approval comes as the Trump administration seeks to expand U.S. engagement in Latin America as part of its national security strategy, including deeper defense cooperation with regional partners.

Rubio said in a statement that Washington had designated Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government as a “state sponsor of wrongful detention,” calling on Kabul to free all U.S. citizens currently held there, including Mahmood Habibi and Dennis Coyle.

Rubio accused the Taliban of using detention tactics to extract concessions. “The Taliban continues to use terrorist tactics, kidnapping individuals for ransom or to seek policy concessions,” he said, adding that the United States had concluded it was unsafe for Americans to travel to Afghanistan because of the risk of unjust detention.

Two sources familiar with the matter said Washington could restrict the use of U.S. passports for travel to Afghanistan if the Taliban authorities do not comply with U.S. demands.

Such restrictions currently apply only to travel to North Korea under U.S. regulations.

The United States is also seeking the return of the remains of Paul Overby, who was last seen near Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan in 2014, according to the sources.

Reuters was unable to reach Taliban officials for comment on the U.S. designation. The Taliban government has previously denied detaining Habibi, who formerly headed Afghanistan’s civil aviation authority.

The report that the United States was considering such a designation was first reported by CBS News earlier on Monday.

Rubio made a similar determination against Iran on Feb. 27 under an executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump in September. He warned that Washington could also restrict travel to Iran over the detention of U.S. citizens, although no such restrictions have been imposed.

The United States and Israel launched military operations against Iran the day after the designation was announced.

The announcement came roughly a week after the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran, escalating hostilities that have spread across the Middle East. The State Department said Rubio determined an emergency existed that required the immediate transfer of weapons to Israel.Under the deal, Israel requested 12,000 BLU-110A/B general-purpose bomb bodies weighing 1,000 pounds each. The State Department said the principal contractor would be Repkon USA, based in Texas.

Emergency authority invokedIn a statement, the State Department said Rubio concluded that the sale was “in the national security interests of the United States.” The emergency determination allows the administration to bypass the standard congressional review process normally required for foreign military sales.Such emergency authorities have been used by successive administrations during urgent geopolitical crises to accelerate weapons transfers to allies.The decision was made as fighting linked to the Iran conflict intensified across the region, with both U.S. and Israeli forces conducting strikes and Iran responding with attacks targeting Israel and several regional countries hosting U.S. military installations.

Congressional criticism emergesDemocratic Representative Gregory Meeks criticized the decision, saying the use of emergency authority indicated shortcomings in the administration’s preparation for the conflict.“The Trump administration has repeatedly insisted it was fully prepared for this war,” Meeks said in a statement. “Rushing to invoke emergency authority to circumvent Congress tells a different story.”Meeks added that the decision reflected what he described as an emergency “of the Trump administration’s own creation.”Conflict toll mountsThe United States and Israel launched an air assault on Iran on Feb. 28, prompting retaliatory attacks by Tehran against Israel and several regional locations hosting U.S. bases.Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations has said at least 1,332 Iranian civilians have been killed in the attacks and thousands more wounded. Iran has also reported the deaths of several senior leaders, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The U.S. military has said six American service members were killed in a strike on a facility in Kuwait, while Israeli authorities say at least 10 civilians have died in Iran’s retaliatory strikes.Washington has maintained strong military and political support for Israel during conflicts involving Gaza, Lebanon and Iran under both President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden.U.S. military assistance to Israel has drawn scrutiny from rights experts, particularly during Israel’s military campaign in Gaza Strip, which has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced the enclave’s population and triggered warnings of famine and genocide assessments from some scholars and a United Nations inquiry.