Belgium's prime minister appealed Wednesday for American help to counter transnational drug trafficking as he visited the port of Antwerp, a key smuggling hub into Europe, with US homeland security chief Kristi Noem.

"We need the Americans," conservative leader Bart De Wever told reporters as he and Noem toured the North Sea port. "There's work to do -- and we can only do it together."

He praised US President Donald Trump's administration, which has deployed military assets in the Caribbean to target traffickers, for "taking the lead" in combatting drug cartels in the Americas.

"This very good news for us," De Wever said, calling for stepped-up cooperation and information-sharing between Europe and the United States "because the drug criminals know no borders".

He suggested that a secu

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