Fiji, Oct. 30 -- The United States has warned that drug cartels and narcoterrorist groups are expanding their reach into the Pacific, urging greater regional attention and stronger law enforcement cooperation to address rising insecurity.

Cartwright Weiland, U.S Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, said criminal networks responsible for violence and drug trafficking in the Americas were increasingly extending their operations into Pacific island countries.

"From a geopolitical perspective, we really can't ignore the insecurity that we're now seeing on some of these islands," Weiland said during a virtual press briefing following the first U.S-Pacific Islands Conference of Police Ministers...