Trump flexes American influence with Shield of the Americas Summit
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President Trump speaks during a meeting with Chancellor Merz at the White House. Photo: Kay Nietfeld/picture alliance via Getty Images.
President Trump will host Latin American leaders Saturday at the first Shield of the Americas Summit with ex-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at the helm.
Why it matters: While modern U.S. presidents have typically shied away from exerting American influence over the Western hemisphere, the summit underscores Trump's willingness to reassert American control under his so-called "Donroe Doctrine."
Driving the news: Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will join Trump in Doral, Florida Saturday.
- Noem will also attend as Special Envoy to the Shield of the Americas.
- Trump announced Noem got the new gig on Thursday, after reportedly growing frustrated with her handling of the Minneapolis shootings, lavish spending habits and what was widely viewed as two back-to-back humiliating appearances before House and Senate committees this week.
- A White House spokesperson told Axios that Noem had helped secure the border, deported hundreds of thousands of undocumented people and executed "record-setting counter-drug operations against cartels," making her an ideal pick for the special envoy job.
What they're saying: "After years of neglect, President Trump established the 'Donroe Doctrine' to restore American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere," White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told Axios in an emailed statement.
- "The President has successfully strengthened our relationships in our own backyard to make the entire region safer and more stable," and the summit will "Make America, and our partners, Strong Again."
State of play: The summit comes as the president devotes much of his second term reshaping global trade while strong-arming southern leaders to commit more resources to stopping illegal immigration.
Here's what to know about the summit:
Who's attending?
The coalition is stacked with America's "strongest likeminded allies" in the hemisphere, a brief State Department news release notes.
Zoom in: Per a White House official, heads of state from 12 nations will gather, including:
- Argentine Republic President Javier Milei
- Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz Pereira
- Chile President-elect José Antonio Kast
- Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves Robles
- Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader
- Ecuadorian Constitutional President Daniel Noboa
- El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele
- Guyanese President Mohamed Irfaan Ali
- Honduran President Nasry "Tito" Asfura
- Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino Quintero
- Paraguayan President Santiago Peña
- Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar
The intrigue: Trump-installed Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez — who came to power after Trump captured former leader Nicolás Maduro, in one of Trump's most high-profile examples of executing the "Donroe Doctrine" — will not attend.
What's the summit's goal?
A White House spokesperson told Axios that the initiative will "advance cutting-edge strategies to defeat narco-terrorist cartels and stop illegal mass migration to make America and the entire Western Hemisphere safer."
- The president is also expected to tout a newly-signed joint security declaration that reaffirms the U.S. and 17 leaders across the hemisphere's "commitment to peace, sovereignty and stability in the region."
Go deeper: How the ice finally broke under Kristi Noem
