President Donald Trump will host Latin American leaders Saturday at his Miami-area golf club, aiming to refocus attention on the Western Hemisphere amid a series of international crises. The meeting, billed as the “Shield of the Americas” summit, follows two major developments: Mr. Trump’s order to seize Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and fly him and his wife to the United States on drug conspiracy charges, and the U.S. decision to join Israel in a recent military campaign against Iran — a conflict that has produced significant casualties, market turbulence and wider regional unease.
The president’s time with regional counterparts will be short. He is scheduled to depart for Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, to attend the dignified transfer of six U.S. service members killed in a drone strike on a command center in Kuwait, an event that comes a day after the U.S. and Israel launched their campaign against Iran.
Still, the Doral gathering gives the White House a platform to emphasize a renewed hemispheric focus and push back against growing Chinese influence in the region. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, addressing regional defense ministers and leaders earlier in the week, argued that previous administrations became “obsessed with every other theater and every other border in the world except our own,” accusing past elites of a “benign neglect” that reduced U.S. engagement in the Americas.
Confirmed attendees include leaders from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago. The summit will take place at Trump National Doral Miami, the same resort where the administration plans to host the Group of 20 summit later this year.
The Shield of the Americas concept grew from the collapse of a planned 10th Summit of the Americas, which was postponed amid a U.S. military buildup off Venezuela’s coast last year. The Dominican Republic, under pressure from Washington, had originally excluded Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela from that event. Threats by left-leaning leaders in Colombia and Mexico to pull out, plus no firm commitment from Mr. Trump, prompted Dominican President Luis Abinader to delay the meeting, citing deep regional divisions.
This new, smaller gathering signals a distinctly U.S.-led, ideologically like-minded approach. It proposes a more assertive posture — including greater use of military and intelligence resources — than has been typical since the Cold War. However, the meeting notably excludes hemisphere heavyweights Brazil and Mexico, along with Colombia, a longtime U.S. partner in counternarcotics work. Richard Feinberg, who helped organize the first Summit of the Americas in 1994, contrasted that original inclusive vision with this tighter, quickly arranged assembly centered on a dominant U.S. figure.
A primary driver of the summit is countering China’s expanding role in Latin America. Since returning to the White House, Mr. Trump has framed efforts to push back on Beijing as a 21st-century Monroe Doctrine, targeting Chinese infrastructure projects, military ties and investments in key resource sectors. An early example cited by the administration was pressure on Panama to withdraw from China’s Belt and Road Initiative and to reexamine port contracts held by a Hong Kong-based company, steps the U.S. linked to concerns over the Panama Canal.
The Trump administration’s recent moves, including the Maduro operation, could affect oil flows to China — historically a major buyer of Venezuelan crude — and potentially draw Venezuela closer to Washington. Mr. Trump is also set to visit Beijing later this month for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Despite U.S. pressure, many regional governments are cautious about cutting economic ties with China. For nations facing persistent development needs — from poverty reduction to infrastructure financing — Chinese trade and investment often fill gaps left by reduced U.S. aid and by policies viewed as punitive, such as tighter immigration enforcement. Kevin Gallagher of Boston University summed up the choice: he said the U.S. is offering tariffs, deportations and militarization, while China is offering trade and investment, and urged leaders to hedge between the two powers.
Ahead of the summit, Mr. Trump named Kristi Noem, recently removed as Homeland Security secretary, as his special envoy for the Shield of the Americas. Noem has said the president will unveil “a big agreement” aimed at intensifying efforts against cartels and drug trafficking across the hemisphere.