‘Shield of the Americas’: Trump launches regional coalition
‘Shield of the Americas’: Trump launches regional coalition
On Saturday, US President Donald Trump convened leaders from Latin American nations at his Miami-area golf club, marking the beginning of the “Shield of the Americas” summit. The White House framed the event as an opportunity to address challenges in the region, with Trump highlighting its “tremendous potential” and stressing the need to combat cartels and criminal gangs.
The summit followed a prior meeting hosted by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, where Latin American officials gathered in Doral, Florida, to discuss drug trafficking enforcement. Trump briefly joined the gathering, demonstrating his ongoing engagement with Western Hemisphere affairs despite the concurrent conflict in Iran.
At the event, Trump formally announced the creation of a new regional coalition, declaring it the “Americas Counter Cartel Coalition.” The initiative aims to strengthen security partnerships across the continent, with a focus on dismantling organized crime networks. Notably, the summit did not include leaders from Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia, which are currently governed by left-leaning administrations.
Participants represented Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, and Trinidad and Tobago. The Trump administration has positioned the coalition as a modern extension of the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine, which sought to prevent European influence in the Americas. This new effort is termed the “Trump Corollary” to that historical policy.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was appointed as the coalition’s special envoy. Though recently removed from her previous role, Noem expressed enthusiasm for her new position, noting collaboration with Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on regional security matters. She stated the summit’s declaration would outline strategies for targeting cartels and drug trafficking across the Western Hemisphere.
“The only way to defeat these enemies is by unleashing the power of our militaries,” Trump said, reiterating the importance of military action. “We’re working with you to do whatever we have to do. We’ll use missiles. You want us to use a missile? They’re extremely accurate,” he added, mimicking the sound of a missile as “Piu” to emphasize its precision.
Trump framed Latin America as a “great part of the world,” underscoring the region’s promise once organized crime is addressed. The summit’s declaration also acknowledged the ongoing efforts to combat drug trafficking, linking the current strategy to previous initiatives led by Hegseth. To view this video, enable JavaScript and upgrade to a web browser that supports HTML5 video.
