President Donald Trump hosted the inaugural “Shield of the Americas” summit on March 7 at his Trump National Doral Miami resort, gathering 12 Latin American and Caribbean leaders to discuss coordinated action against drug cartels and illegal migration and to counter foreign influence in the hemisphere. During remarks, Trump said he would “take care of” Cuba and praised Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, for cooperating with the United States following Nicolás Maduro’s capture earlier this year.
President Donald Trump convened the “Shield of the Americas” summit on Saturday, March 7, at Trump National Doral Miami in Doral, Florida, bringing together leaders from 12 countries for what the White House described as a counter-cartel coalition aimed at combating transnational criminal groups and illegal migration, while also emphasizing resistance to foreign influence in the region.
Among the leaders identified as attending were Argentina’s Javier Milei, El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele, Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa, and officials from Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, and Trinidad and Tobago.
In comments about Cuba, Trump recounted that several summit attendees had urged him to address what they described as problems stemming from Havana. “Many of you have come today and they say, ‘I hope you can take care of Cuba,’” Trump said, adding that multiple leaders had made similar appeals. “I’ll take care of it, ok?” he told the gathering.
Trump also highlighted the political transition underway in Venezuela after Nicolás Maduro was captured in a U.S. operation in early January and later appeared in federal court in New York to face drug-trafficking-related charges, according to reporting from The Associated Press. Trump praised interim President Delcy Rodríguez, saying she is “doing a great job” and is “working with us,” as Washington moves to reshape ties with Caracas.
In a separate development that underscored the shift, the U.S. State Department said this week that the United States and Venezuela agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations, which were severed in 2019. The announcement followed visits by senior U.S. officials to Venezuela focused on the country’s oil and mining sectors, AP reported.
The summit’s guest list was composed of governments described by the White House as close U.S. partners. Reports on the event did not characterize the invitees as a formal exclusion of specific countries based on ideology, and no verified accounts of the summit’s agenda included claims that U.S. policy changes had authorized Venezuelan private oil sales to Cuba or new plans for gold and mineral trading as part of the summit’s outcomes.
