The president of United States, Donald Trumpreceived Latin American leaders in Florida this Saturday (7) to announce the formation of a military coalition against drug cartels, in line with an argument he has defended throughout his second term.
Trump cited drug cartels as the main reason for stepping up his administration’s involvement in Latin America, putting pressure on Venezuela in recent months and arresting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January.
At least a dozen leaders from Central America, South America and the Caribbean attended the “Shield of the Americas” summit called by Trump, who signed a proclamation launching the coalition.
“It’s a wonderful part of the world, but to realize all this enormous potential, we need to end the rule of cartels, criminal gangs and horrible organizations run, in some cases, by real animals, and truly free our people,” Trump said.
Kristi Noem will be special envoy to the “Shield of the Americas,” Trump announced Thursday. Noem was secretary of Homeland Security until she was removed from office by Trump this week after mounting criticism from Congress.
Saturday’s meeting gives Trump an opportunity to project strength closer to home, even as the conflict in the Middle East is having consequences that he may not be able to fully control, such as rising oil and gas prices.
But the Trump administration has also been looking for ways to counter China’s growing influence in the region.
Saturday’s summit came as Trump prepares for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in late March. The Trump administration hopes to bring Latin America closer to Washington after years of China’s growing trade, loans and infrastructure investment in the region.
The summit brings together conservative leaders aligned with Trump on security, migration and economic issues.
Right-wing allies participate in the summit
Among those present are Argentine President Javier Milei, Chilean President-elect José Antonio Kast and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, whose crackdown on gangs, criticized by human rights groups, has become a model for part of the Latin American right.
Politicians from across the region visited Bukele’s sprawling “megaprison,” where the United States last year deported more than 200 Venezuelans without trial.
Also participating in the meeting are Honduran President Nasry Asfura, who narrowly won a contested election with Trump’s support, and Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, who echoed parts of Trump’s economic agenda and recently announced joint operations with the US in a military crackdown on drug trafficking.
Many of these leaders share Trump’s hard-line view on crime and immigration, prioritizing repressive measures over deeper social solutions and private initiative over the state.
His rise reflects a broader rightward shift in parts of Latin America, at a time when the region is divided between Washington and Beijing.
Countering China’s Growing Regional Influence
Ryan Berg, who directs the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said China’s trade with the region will hit a record $518 billion in 2024, with Beijing lending more than $120 billion to governments across the Western Hemisphere.
China’s growing involvement in Latin America — from satellite tracking stations in Argentina and a port in Peru to economic support for Venezuela — has been a point of friction for successive American administrations.
China has expanded its influence through trade, loans and infrastructure, while the Trump administration has pressured governments in the region to restrict Beijing’s role in ports, energy projects and other strategic assets.
This pressure was evident recently when Panamanian authorities took action against a Hong Kong-based company linked to operations in the Panama Canal, an important global cargo transportation channel.
Washington also took more direct measures in the region
The United States captured Maduro on January 3 and took steps to take control of the country’s oil exports, in addition to intensifying the application of the decades-old American embargo on Cuba.
Several Trump administration officials told Reuters that Trump’s move against Maduro was aimed, in part, at countering China’s ambitions, and that the days of Beijing using debt as leverage to get cheap oil from Venezuela were “over.”
