President Donald Trump on Saturday urged Latin American leaders to use military force against drug cartels, arguing that armed action is the only way to defeat the powerful criminal networks operating across the hemisphere.
Speaking at the Shield of the Americas summit at his golf resort near Miami, Trump said the United States and partner countries must rely on military power to dismantle trafficking organizations that he described as a major regional security threat.
President Donald J. Trump with leaders from across Latin America at the Shield of the Americas Summit. pic.twitter.com/f9mBTSANei
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 7, 2026
“The only way to defeat these enemies is by unleashing the power of our militaries,” Trump said during remarks to attending leaders. “We have to use our military. You have to use your military.”
The summit brought together officials from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, and Trinidad and Tobago, according to reporting by the Associated Press. Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia — among the largest and most influential countries in the region — were not present.
Trump framed the gathering as part of a broader effort to reassert U.S. influence in the Western Hemisphere while confronting drug trafficking groups that his administration has increasingly treated as security threats comparable to militant organizations.
He pointed to the U.S.-led coalition that fought the Islamic State group in the Middle East as a model for what he said should be a similar international effort against cartels. “We must now do the same thing to eradicate the cartels at home,” Trump said.
The summit comes amid a series of aggressive moves by the administration in the region. Two months ago, Trump ordered a U.S. military operation that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and brought him to the United States to face drug conspiracy charges.
The administration has also pursued expanded military actions against suspected drug-smuggling operations in nearby waters. U.S. forces have carried out dozens of aerial strikes on boats believed to be linked to trafficking in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, resulting in roughly 150 deaths, according to figures cited by U.S. officials and reported by Al Jazeera.
"Over the last year, the world has witnessed the supreme power of the United States. We're the most powerful military country in the world." – President Donald J. Trump 🇺🇸
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 7, 2026
Officials have argued the strategy is intended to deter organized crime networks. Critics, however, have raised legal and human rights concerns about the strikes and the broader militarization of anti-drug efforts in the region, according to that report.
Trump’s push comes as the United States and Israel are involved in a large-scale joint military operation against Iran called Operation Epic Fury (referred to as Operation Roaring Lion by Israel). Trump briefly attended the summit before departing for Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to attend the dignified transfer of six U.S. troops killed in a recent drone strike tied to the Middle East conflict.
At another point in his speech, the President said that the communist Cuban regime was “in its last moments of life” and he signalled that a political deal was imminent.
🚨 JUST IN: President Trump reveals CUBA is "in its last moments of life" and Sec. Marco Rubio is going to strike a deal
Wow!
"It will have a great new life. It's in its last moments of life, the way it is."
"Our focus right now is on Iran. We'll do that, I'd say, what will… pic.twitter.com/DoIoIGDPjL
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 7, 2026
The conference follows Trump’s announcement that Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security, will transition to a new role as special envoy for The Shield of the Americas, as reported by The Dallas Express.
