MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Trump launches anti-cartel coalition, says Cuba regime “in its final days”

Held at Trump National Doral Miami, the gathering brought together the leaders of 12 right-wing Latin American leaders

U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday opened the first Shield of the Americas summit in Doral, Florida, bringing together a group of like-minded Latin American and Caribbean leaders to unveil a new regional security alliance focused on fighting drug cartels. In his remarks, he said Cuba was “very much at the end of the line,” claimed Havana wanted to negotiate with Washington, and said his administration had formally recognized the interim government of Delcy Rodríguez in Venezuela as diplomatic ties between the two countries were being restored.

Held at Trump National Doral Miami, the gathering brought together the leaders of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago. The summit was designed to show that the White House still sees Latin America as a strategic priority even as the war with Iran dominates U.S. foreign policy; after speaking, Trump flew to Dover for the dignified transfer ceremony for six U.S. soldiers killed in Kuwait.

The main thrust of the summit was a harder anti-cartel line. Trump urged regional governments to use military force against cartels and transnational gangs, and the White House released a proclamation tying the event to a new Americas Counter Cartel Coalition, which it said includes military representatives from 17 countries. The move came days after a joint U.S.-Ecuadorian operations in Ecuador that destroyed a camp belonging to a dissident FARC faction.

On Cuba and Venezuela, Trump repeated his view that the Cuban government is entering its final phase and is seeking an understanding with him and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. On Venezuela, the clearest confirmed development so far is the formal re-establishment of diplomatic and consular ties, announced by the State Department on Thursday; Rodríguez later responded by offering a cooperation agenda based on “mutual respect, equality, and international law.” Trump’s statement that Washington had formally recognized Rodríguez’s government was made publicly at the summit.

The summit also underscored the bloc’s ideological alignment: A showcase for right-wing or center-right governments that favor hardline security and migration policies. Trump also warned against “hostile foreign influence” in the hemisphere, an implicit reference to China’s regional footprint, and drew criticism by telling the invited leaders he had no intention of learning “your damn language.”