President Luis Abinader was one of 12 heads of government of the Americas meeting in Florida with US President Donald Trump. At a time when the world is focused on the US and Israel war in Iran and the Middle East, the US President had invited the 12 heads of government from Latin America and the Caribbean to the meeting to create a regional coalition to foster US interests in the Americas. While the White House (in Washington, DC) was the official organizer of the event, the actual gatherings took place at the Trump National Doral Miami golf resort in Florida on Saturday, 7 March 2026.
President Donald Trump hosted the Caribbean and Latin American leaders to discuss regional security, particularly regarding cartels and foreign influence. The meeting came just days after US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had hosted a summit on drug trafficking enforcement with Latin American leaders at the US Southern Command, also in Doral, Florida.
In his remarks, President Trump said Latin America was “a great part of the world,” with tremendous potential that could only be fulfilled if cartels and criminal gangs were defeated. “The only way to defeat these enemies is by unleashing the power of our militaries,” Trump said, echoing the message of the summit on drug cartels that Hegseth hosted previously. “We’re working with you to do whatever we have to do. We’ll use missiles. You want us to use a missile? They’re extremely accurate,” Trump said.
The 12 regional heads of government that attended were:
For the Caribbean: President Luis Abinader (Dominican Republic), President Mohamed Irfaan Ali (Guyana) and Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar of Trinidad & Tobago.
From Central America: President Rodrigo Chaves Robles (Costa Rica), Nayib Bukele Bukele (El Salvador), Nasry “Tito” Asfura (Honduras), President José Raúl Mulino (Panama).
From South America: President Javier Milei (Argentina), President-elect José Antonio Kast (Chile), President Rodrigo Paz Pereira (Bolivia), President Daniel Noboa (Ecuador) and President Santiago Peña of Paraguay.
“Just as we formed a coalition to eradicate Isis, we now need a coalition to eradicate the cartels,” he told the regional leaders gathered for the “Shield of the Americas” summit.
At the inaugural Shield of the Americas Summit held at the Trump National Doral Miami, President Donald Trump formally introduced what he termed the “Donroe Doctrine,” a play on Donald + Monroe as a 21st-century adaptation of the 1823 Monroe Doctrine.
Key aspects of the Donroe Doctrine
• Military action against cartels: The President explicitly called for regional leaders to use their armed forces, rather than just law enforcement, to “eradicate” drug cartels, describing them as a “cancer” that has become more powerful than local police.
• Americas Counter-Cartel Coalition (A3C): Trump signed a proclamation creating this coalition of 12 politically aligned countries—including the Dominican Republic—to coordinate lethal military force against transnational criminal organizations.
• “Lethal force” authorization: The administration signaled that the US is prepared to use its own military capabilities, including potential missile strikes, to finish cartel targets within the region.
• Countering foreign influence: Beyond drugs, the doctrine asserts US primacy in the Western Hemisphere, specifically aiming to push back against Chinese and Russian economic and military encroachment.
The Guardian of the UK reported on specific remarks from both President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio aimed at curbing Chinese influence in the Western Hemisphere:
• The Panama Canal: President Trump issued a blunt warning, stating, “We will not allow hostile foreign influence to gain a foothold in this hemisphere that includes the Panama Canal”.
• Regional cooperation: He called for 12 Latin American and Caribbean nations to unify their efforts specifically to counter Chinese economic and political interests in the region.
• The “Counter-Cartel Coalition”: Trump framed the new coalition as a way to “change the channel” from global conflicts to local regional interests, emphasizing that the U.S. would reassert its dominance over foreign actors in its “own backyard”.
Remarks by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
• Prioritizing the hemisphere: US Secretary Rubio thanked President Trump for making the Western Hemisphere a top priority, referring to the attending regional leaders not just as allies but as “friends”.
• Criticism of allies: Rubio used his remarks to take a “dig” at traditional allies like the United Kingdom, contrasting the strong regional support at the summit with what he described as the UK’s “weak response” to recent US military actions in Iran.
• Ideological alignment: He characterized the summit as an essential gathering of like-minded leaders needed to push back against the “years of Chinese economic encroachment” that had occurred under previous administrations.
The “Shield of the Americas” will have former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as its special envoy. Noem was recently replaced as head of Homeland Security. She said she was looking forward to the new role, as well as working with Secretary of Defense Peter Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on security issues in the region. She said the summit’s declaration centered on “how we’re going to go after cartels and drug trafficking in the entire Western Hemisphere.”
While the President discussed regional security in Miami, authorities at home in the DR continued the crackdown on trafficking. A press release from the National Drug Control Agency (DNCD) revealed the seizing of 700 packages of suspected cocaine hidden in a container of grapes destined for Europe. The container was originally packed in Chile and traveled from Ecuador and Colombia on its transshipment route to Europe with a stop in the Dominican Republic. The ship was destined to make stops in Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom where the cargo was destined, according to its cargo manifest.
Read more:
Global Times
BBC
The Guardian
CSIS
DW
DNCD
9 March 2026