President Donald Trump kicked off his “Shield of the Americas” coalition on Saturday morning, and it was something beautiful to watch. For so many years, our country largely ignored our partners in the Western Hemisphere, but now, we have welcomed them with open arms and shown them that we are better together — that joining forces with us against the rest of the world is the only way to handle everything that hurts us, from China’s sketchy presence in the Americas to the cartel violence that plagues us all.
Quite frankly, it was the one of the warmest meetings of heads of state I’ve ever seen — hugs, handshakes, smiles, and genuine conversations. It was proof that we share much more than just geography. As Marco Rubio said, we’re more than allies; we’re friends. And you could tell that most of these countries’ presidents have amazing relationships with Trump, Rubio, and the numerous other members of Trump’s cabinet who were in attendance.
SECRETARY RUBIO: We are grateful for our allies – the countries that have been there for us and the leaders that are friends and always willing to work and cooperate with the United States. pic.twitter.com/HLgJkx5bht
— Department of State (@StateDept) March 7, 2026
Here’s the family photo:
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
So what is the Shield of the Americas? It’s a summit that the Trump administration held in Miami on Saturday, welcoming the heads of state from twelve Caribbean and Latin American nations to promote “freedom, security, and prosperity in our region.” The attendees were from countries that are largely politically and socially aligned with the Trump administration and the United States.
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They included our favorites Javier Milei of Argentina and Nayib Bukele of El Salvador; Bolivia’s new president, Rodrigo Paz; Chile’s President-elect José Kast; Costa Rica’s president, Rodrigo Chaves, as well as its president-elect, Laura Fernández; Luis Abinader of the Dominican Republic; Ecuador’s president, Daniel Noboa; Guyana’s president, Irfaan Ali; Nasry Asfura, the new president of Honduras; José Raúl Mulino of Panama; Paraguay’s president, Santiago Peña; and the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad-Bissessa.
As the president said, “All of the nations in this room share the same priorities: security, prosperity, free commerce, and the rule of law… that’s why together, we’re also forming the Shield of the Americas, a new organization to advance these shared priorities in our hemisphere.”
Rubio also pointed out that “We want the world to see that when you’re a friend and an ally of the United States, it is a good thing. It’s reciprocated.”
SECRETARY RUBIO: We want the world to see that when you’re a friend and an ally of the United States, it is a good thing. It’s reciprocated. pic.twitter.com/43XM17jgYX
— Department of State (@StateDept) March 7, 2026
I won’t get too into Trump’s speech — he meandered a bit, as he does — but he did make some great points, and he promised all of these aligned countries that if they want to help fight the cartels, we will give them what they need to do so. It’s easy to see these types of events as all talk and no action, but given what we’ve seen the president do in just his first year in office, I’m pretty sure he means it.
Two important points he made that I wanted to note: First, he talked a little bit about what we’re doing in Venezuela, and he praised Delcy Rodríguez, which I know makes a lot of people unhappy. However, he actually clarified that he only does that because she “cooperates” with him. He said if she wasn’t doing what he told her to do, he wouldn’t be saying these things. In other words, he does not think she’s some great leader and the future of Venezuela; she’s basically just, as I like to say, his pawn.
Second, Trump mentioned that after he’s done with Iran, he will definitely handle Cuba, as he’s been saying for the past week. He said that the country is at the “end of the line.” I think this got the biggest round of applause from the dignitaries gathered. As the president said, Cuba causes problems for a lot of countries, and it’s time for that to end. It sounded like everyone else was on board with this plan.
🇺🇸🇨🇺 | AHORA — Donald Trump le anuncia a los presidentes de la región que “un gran cambio llegará pronto a Cuba”.
“Cuba está al final del camino”.pic.twitter.com/HvAr3s4AHz
— Agustín Antonetti (@agusantonetti) March 7, 2026
He also mentioned that Mexico is the problem in the region right now, saying it’s the biggest source of cartels and that something must be done about it. He said he like the Mexican narco-president, Claudia Sheinbaum, and has offered her many times to help eradicate the cartels, but she says no. (She’s into that whole “hugs not bullets” ideology, she claims. Her party is also wrapped up in the cartels… ) I have a feeling Trump won’t give up on that.
After Trump, Rubio and Pete Hegseth spoke. Rubio did his speech in English and Spanish, which was great, and they even joked that he is a good interpreter. I noticed that most of the heads of state seemed to have a great relationship with Rubio when I was watching the crowd mingle, and I think that’s a big reason why. He speaks their language. He knows their troubles, and he’s helping the president fix them. Trump even said something like “this is Marco’s favorite part of the world.”
🚨 JUST IN: Sec. Marco Rubio breaks out in SPANISH to Latin leaders and tells President Trump, “I think I’m a good interpreter!”
I think Marco just signed himself up for YET ANOTHER job 🤣
“You alright if I? Good. We don’t need an interpreter for this one…I think I’m a good… pic.twitter.com/XFjYOOzTSU
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 7, 2026
After the speeches, Trump, surrounded by the heads of states and numerous members of his cabinet, signed the Countering Cartel Criminal Activity Proclamation. While he’s off to Delaware with the first lady to meet with the families of the fallen members of the military, Rubio and Kristi Noem will host a working lunch for those in attendance and later, a reception. There will also be bilateral meetings between the heads of state and cabinet members throughout the day.
And on that note, I’ll leave you with some of the more entertaining moments from the morning.
Trump on his first meeting with Bukele:
Esto es lo que piensa @POTUS sobre el Presidente @nayibbukele. 🇸🇻🇺🇸#ShieldoftheAmericas pic.twitter.com/Buh9xaLnKV
— Casa Presidencial 🇸🇻 (@PresidenciaSV) March 7, 2026
Trump made it pretty clear that he’s not going to learn Spanish anytime soon, and he will leave that to Rubio:
🚨🇺🇸 | TIPAZO: Donald Trump dejó un cómico momento al bromear con Marco Rubio sobre su nulo conocimiento del español: “A todos nos cae bien él… Tiene una ventaja con el idioma sobre mí, y yo no voy a aprender su maldito idioma porque no tengo tiempo”. pic.twitter.com/6hdKKDjlyI
— La Derecha Diario (@laderechadiario) March 7, 2026
Pete Hegseth also admitted he doesn’t do Spanish:
🚨 BOOM
Pete Hegseth, Secretario de Defensa:
«Señor Presidente… yo SOLO hablo estadounidense.»La sala se viene abajo de la risa.
Marco Rubio, sin pestañear:
«Perfecto… porque YO hablo cubano.» 🇺🇸🇨🇺 pic.twitter.com/dCqX5j68MH— Jhonf Fonseca (@Jhonffonseca) March 7, 2026
The heads of state were obviously excited about this new partnership. Many of them are posting online already. Here’s Milei with his “Long Live Liberty, Damn It” catchphrase.
LA LIBERTAD AVANZA
VIVA LA LIBERTAD CARAJO pic.twitter.com/PaCPPKK5oj— Javier Milei (@JMilei) March 7, 2026
The whole team gathering for a photo op:
NOW: President Trump stands shoulder to shoulder with leaders from across Latin America at the Shield of the Americas Summit in Florida. pic.twitter.com/j90XuVsRsx
— Fox News (@FoxNews) March 7, 2026
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