This photo would have been unthinkable just a couple of years ago. In the background, the event’s logo is written in English: “Shield of the Americas. Doral 2026.” Next to it, the flags of the United States and 12 countries from Latin America and the Caribbean. In the foreground, center stage, dressed in his traditional blue suit and red tie, Donald Trump. To his right, the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, wearing a French military-style suit with a black jacket and gold trim, designed by Marina Toybina. To the left of the U.S. president, the president of Guyana, Irfaan Ali. The only woman present, positioned at the far right of the official photo, is the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
The summit, held in Miami, was attended by the leaders of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, and Trinidad and Tobago. As part of the U.S. delegation, in addition to the president, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem—appointed special envoy for the Anti-Cartel Coalition of the Americas—participated. In total, the alliance comprises 17 countries in the region.
The goal of this new initiative for hemispheric unity is not economic integration, nor the creation of a free-trade zone. It does not seek to solve Latin America’s problems. Its purpose, according to President Trump, is to create a new regional military coalition to combat drug trafficking, dismantle transnational cartels, and curb illegal migration through greater exchange of information, resources, and military and police support. Its essence would be “the commitment to use lethal force to destroy the cartels.” The Donroe Doctrine brought to life.
Surely a coincidence, the agreement is inevitably linked to an executive order issued by the White House on February 6, 2026, titled “Establishment of an ‘America First’ Arms Transfer Strategy,” whose objective is to increase sales of military equipment abroad. Of course—business is business.
And, getting carried away, the billionaire warned, in a clear reference to China: “We will not allow hostile external influences to gain ground in this hemisphere, and that includes the Panama Canal.”
Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia did not participate in the meeting. Neither did Uruguay, Venezuela, or Guatemala. Of course, Cuba and Nicaragua were not invited. Trump responded to criticism regarding the absence of the first three countries: “I think they were invited. Maybe they didn’t come.” He added: “I get along very well with all of them.”
Although Guatemala did not attend the summit, shortly afterward it was announced that the military embargo imposed against it in 1977 by Washington for human rights violations in the context of the internal armed conflict had been lifted. The Arévalo administration is seeking to purchase weapons, aircrafts, and equipment.
Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi said he found it odd that he hadn’t been invited and, after some verbal juggling, said he was willing to join the alliance. In contrast, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel called the meeting “reactionary and neocolonial.”
Also during the summit, Trump went after Mexico. He declared it to be “the epicenter of drug cartels” in Latin America. He insisted that the cartels control much of the country and that the United States must “do whatever is necessary to stop them” and protect its people. He added: “They are responsible for much of the bloodshed and chaos, and the U.S. government will do whatever is necessary to defend our nation and protect our people. We have to eradicate them, we have to wipe them out (…) things are getting worse, and it is the cartels that are in charge in Mexico.”
And then, as he has done on other occasions, he praised the president, calling her “a very good person,” and assured that he has a great relationship with her.
President Sheinbaum responded by noting that her administration has maintained a close security cooperation agreement with the United States since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s current term. And, in passing, she dismissed the fact that she was not invited to the recent meeting. “Well, that’s what he decided, right?” she said.
According to her, the bilateral security relationship is already established through a mechanism of bilateral cooperation. “We established a working group even before President Trump took office. He took office on January 20, right? By February 5, the security team was already in Washington,” she stated.
He added that the agreement was finalized following a visit to Mexico in late 2025 by Secretary Marco Rubio, when “the understanding was reached (…) within the framework of our sovereignty and our protection of the territory.”
So far, Trump has succeeded in his initiative to detain Nicolás Maduro and seize Venezuelan oil. He has not succeeded in his bid for regime change in Cuba. And his bid to topple the Iranian regime is a veritable disaster. There, he is trapped with no way out.
It would seem that, to mitigate the debacle he is suffering in his Middle East adventure, he needs to put more pressure on Mexico and tighten the shackles on Latin America. And that is what he is doing with the Shield of the Americas, an ideological project that rallies the hemisphere’s far-right governments around him. The photograph of the leaders with Trump at the center is a testament to his political and cultural triumph (albeit temporary and unstable) on the continent; a display of his electoral victories, intended to cover up his failures in the East. Sadly, it is, at the same time, a vivid image of the defeat of progressivism on the continent. A reminder of the almost unbroken chain of its defeats and setbacks.
Original text by Luís Hernández Navarro published in La Jornada on March 17th, 2026.
Translation by Schools for Chiapas.