FLASH NEWS
"I'm waiting for the fall of Cuba," Trump gathers Latin American leaders: Let's keep Chinese interests away from the region
2026-03-07 20:07:03 / BOTA
US President Donald Trump has convened a meeting of Latin American leaders at his Miami-area golf club to discuss regional interests and create what he called an "anti-cartel coalition".
"Just as we formed a coalition to take out ISIS, now we need a coalition to take out the cartels," he told 12 regional leaders gathered at what the White House called the "Shield of the Americas" summit.
"We must recognize that the epicenter of cartel violence is Mexico," where "the cartels are instigating and orchestrating most of the bloodshed and chaos in this hemisphere."
Trump convened the summit of leaders from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago, just two months after a US military operation to arrest then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who is awaiting trial on drug and arms conspiracy charges in the US.
Also among those present was outgoing US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who had been selected as a special envoy to the regional coalition, which Trump announced along with the news of her dismissal on Thursday.
Less than two weeks ago, U.S. law enforcement provided intelligence assistance in a raid in Jalisco, Mexico, to capture Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” the leader of the Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) cartel and one of the world’s most wanted drug traffickers. El Mencho was wounded in the shootout and died while being transported to Mexico City.
Trump congratulated the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, who was not present at the meeting, but again asserted that the cartels "are getting worse and worse and are taking over. The cartels are running Mexico. We can't allow this. Too close to us, too close to you."
He also praised Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela's interim president, who has offered to "collaborate" with the Trump administration. "She's doing a great job working with us," he said. Last week, the U.S. legally recognized Venezuela's government.
Trump repeated his prediction that Cuba, which had been dependent on Venezuelan oil, was now facing collapse. "We look forward to the great change that will soon come to Cuba," Trump said, claiming the Caribbean nation was "at the end of the line."
"They have no money, they have no oil, they have a bad philosophy and a bad regime," the US president said, but he also said the regime wanted to negotiate with the US. "Cuba is in the last moments of its life, as it was, but it will have a great new life."
Trump offered what could be a policy shift in US policy toward its neighbors, otherwise known as the “Donroe doctrine,” toward regional cooperation and to counter Chinese economic and political interests. “We will not allow hostile foreign influence to gain a foothold in this hemisphere that includes the Panama Canal,” he said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio thanked Trump for making the Western Hemisphere a priority and hailed regional leaders as not only allies but also friends. In what came as a criticism of the UK for its weak response in supporting US strikes on Iran, Rubio said:
“At a time when we have learned that an ally, when you need it, may not be there for you, these are countries that have been there for us,” he said, adding: “We want you to see that when you are a friend and an ally of the United States, that is a good thing and that comes back to you the other way.”
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the US had for too long been focused on borders in distant countries "and not on our borders, in our Western Hemisphere".
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