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Trump gathers Latin American leaders in Miami to launch the 'Shield of the Americas' summit
President Donald Trump is gathering around fifteen like-minded Latin American leaders this Saturday at Trump National Doral Miami to launch the summit 'Shield of the Americas', a forum on hemispheric security aiming to consolidate a regional coalition against drug trafficking, illegal immigration, and the influence of China, Iran, and Cuba in the region.
Among the confirmed leaders are Javier Milei (Argentina), Nayib Bukele (El Salvador), and Daniel Noboa (Ecuador), along with Santiago Peña (Paraguay), José Raúl Mulino (Panama), Luis Abinader (Dominican Republic), Rodrigo Chaves (Costa Rica), Rodrigo Paz (Bolivia), Nasry 'Tito' Asfura (Honduras), Irfaan Ali (Guyana), and Kamla Persad-Bissessar (Trinidad and Tobago). Also attending is the president-elect of Chile, José Antonio Kast, who will assume office next Wednesday, March 11. The Secretary of State Marco Rubio is accompanying Trump at the meeting.
The White House spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, described the event as the formation of an unprecedented alliance: "The president will engage in discussions with the leaders of these countries who have formed a historic coalition to work together to address illegal and mass migration, as well as the threat of criminal outflows from drug traffickers and terrorists."
The summit is being held at the golf resort owned by Trump himself and was announced by the White House last Tuesday. The initiative is part of what Washington refers to as a "reinterpretation of the Monroe Doctrine" and is included in the National Security Strategy 2026 of the United States. Senator Markwayne Mullin has been appointed as the special envoy for the initiative, replacing Kristi Noem, who had initially been designated for this role.
The meeting is laden with geopolitical symbolism. This Friday, Ecuador and the United States conducted their first joint military operation against the drug trafficking group Comandos de la Frontera (CDF) in the Amazon province of Sucumbíos. Additionally, Quito expelled the entire Cuban diplomatic mission from the country days before the summit, in a gesture of alignment with Washington.
About Cuba, Trump intensified his rhetoric in the days leading up to this. On Friday, he declared to CNN that the Cuban regime is eager to reach an agreement and that his administration is "very focused" on the matter. On Thursday, during an event at the White House with Inter Miami and Lionel Messi, he told Rubio directly: ‘Your next project will be Cuba’
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