President Donald Trump convened Latin American leaders Saturday at his Miami-area golf club as his administration seeks to demonstrate a continued commitment to refocusing U.S. foreign policy on the Western Hemisphere amid ongoing global crises.
“Shield of the Americas” Summit
The gathering, dubbed the “Shield of the Americas” summit by the White House, followed a recent U.S. military operation aimed at capturing Venezuela’s then-president, Nicolás Maduro, and bringing him to the United States to face drug conspiracy charges. Trump also recently initiated a military campaign with Israel against Iran, a conflict that has resulted in hundreds of deaths and disrupted global markets.
Trump began Saturday with a social media post warning of intensified strikes against Iran and further targeting of Iranian officials. “Today Iran will be hit very hard!” Trump said.
The summit’s schedule will be brief for Trump, who is scheduled to travel to Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, to attend the dignified transfer of the six U.S. troops killed in a drone strike on a command center in Kuwait, following the launch of the U.S.-Israel military campaign against Iran.
Despite the ongoing conflicts, Trump aimed to shift attention to the Western Hemisphere, pledging to reassert U.S. dominance in the region and counter what he views as years of Chinese economic influence.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told regional leaders and defense ministers gathered in Florida this week that previous administrations had neglected the region. “These elites reduced our power and presence in this hemisphere, opting for a benign neglect that was anything but benign,” Hegseth said.
Attendees
Leaders from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, and Trinidad and Tobago confirmed their participation at Trump National Doral Miami. The summit emerged from plans for a 10th Summit of the Americas, which was scrapped during the U.S. military buildup off the coast of Venezuela last year.
The Dominican Republic, under White House pressure, had barred Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela from attending a regional gathering. However, after leaders from Colombia and Mexico threatened to withdraw in protest, and with no commitment from Trump to attend, the Dominican Republic’s president, Luis Abinader, postponed the event, citing “deep differences” in the region.
The “Shield of the Americas” is intended to reflect Trump’s “America First” foreign policy toward the region, leveraging U.S. military and intelligence assets.
Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia, key regional powers and partners in U.S. anti-narcotics strategy, were notably absent from the event.
Richard Feinberg, who helped plan the first Summit of the Americas in 1994, contrasted the two events. “The first Summit of the Americas…projected inclusion, consensus and optimism,” said Feinberg, now professor emeritus at the University of California, San Diego. “The hastily convened Shield of the Americas mini-summit conjures a crouched defensiveness, with only a dozen or so attendees huddled around a single dominant figure.”
Countering China
Since returning to office, Trump has prioritized countering Chinese influence in the hemisphere, promoting the “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine. This strategy targets Chinese infrastructure projects, military cooperation, and investment in the region’s resource industries.
The administration’s approach was first demonstrated by pressuring Panama to withdraw from China’s Belt and Road Initiative and review port contracts held by a Hong Kong-based company, with threats to retake control of the Panama Canal. The U.S. capture of Maduro and Trump’s pledge regarding Venezuela also threaten to disrupt oil shipments to China and potentially bring a key Beijing ally into Washington’s orbit. Trump is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month.
However, even allies have been hesitant to sever ties with China, as China’s trade-focused diplomacy addresses critical financial needs in the region. Trump has simultaneously reduced foreign assistance to the region while rewarding countries that support his immigration policies.
“The U.S. is offering the region tariffs, deportations and militarization whereas China is offering trade and investment,” said Kevin Gallagher, director of Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center. “Leaders in the region would do well to remain neutral and hedge, such that they can leverage increased U.S.-China rivalry to their own benefit.”
Prior to the summit, Trump appointed Kristi Noem as his special envoy for the Shield of the Americas. Noem stated that Trump would announce “a big agreement” at the summit regarding efforts to combat cartels and drug trafficking throughout the Western Hemisphere.
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