Earlier this week, the Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it would postpone the Summit of the Americas, which was scheduled for December in Punta Cana, until 2026. In case you’re not familiar, the summit takes place every few years, and it’s an opportunity for heads of state from countries in the Western Hemisphere to get together and talk about policy, shared values, and challenges we all face.
“In 2022, when the responsibility for organizing the Summit of the Americas was assumed, the profound divisions that currently hinder productive dialogue in the Americas were unforeseeable. This situation is compounded by the impact of recent weather events that have severely affected several Caribbean countries,” the announcement read.
The weather events obviously refer to Hurricane Melissa’s devastation in countries like Jamaica, but the phrase “profound divisions” is a little less self-explanatory. It likely refers to the fact that the Dominican Republic chose not to invite the dictatorships from Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua to the summit. Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum and Colombia’s Gustavo Petro refused to attend if their Marxist buddies weren’t invited. Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was possibly hesitant as well, based on his previous statements.
The few MSM headlines I’ve seen about this basically paint it as “Everyone’s big mad about the U.S. narco-fishermen boat strikes in the Caribbean.”
But the truth is that you can’t have a productive summit if some of the major players aren’t there, and the current leftist bloc of the hemisphere insists on sticking together. They don’t like that the U.S. is mounting pressure against Maduro. Plus, there’s a lot up in the air right now.
“This decision was reached in agreement with our closest partners, including the United States, the original instigator of this forum, and other key countries,” the announcement read, adding near the bottom that, “This postponement entails further consultations on the date of the Summit and broadening the dialogue to include any newly democratically elected governments that may emerge.”
I find that last line the most interesting.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio took to X to say that the U.S. supported the decision to postpone, and several members of Congress backed him up.
On behalf of the United States, we are grateful to Pres. Abinader for his friendship and his willingness to host the Summit of Americas. We fully support the decision to postpone the summit and will continue to work together with the Dominican Republic, and other countries in the…
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) November 4, 2025
My thinking is that the event was strategically postponed because Rubio and others hope that the “leadership” in some of these countries will no longer exist in 2026.
In Venezuela, there will likely no longer be any Nicolás Maduro, and Edmundo González and Maria Corina Machado can attend in his place. (By the way, one of the strongest indicators I’ve seen of Maduro’s impending fall has nothing to do with military action and everything to do with the recently reported ramped-up investment talks between U.S. companies and Machado and González.)
As I’ve said many times, without Maduro, Nicaragua and especially Cuba would become weaker.
In Colombia, Petro, who is not very popular with his constituents or his legislature, will be out of office next summer unless he pulls some sort of stunt.
As for Sheinbaum, well, I don’t think she’s going anywhere soon — though a lot of her constituents are awfully fed up with her right now over the murder of the anti-crime, anti-cartel Mayor Carlos Manzo — but she might stop talking out of both sides of her mouth with the right pressure from the United States and other countries. Maybe. Regardless, she’s getting plenty of it right now, despite her desire to isolate herself from the democratic countries in the region.
Peru actually just severed diplomatic ties with Mexico. Last month, the State Department revoked the visas of several prominent members of her Morena Party. Reading between the lines, Rubio appears to be increasing pressure on Mexican Foreign Secretary Juan Ramón de la Fuente regarding cooperation with the United States on security issues, and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said on Sunday, after Manzo’s murder, that “The U.S. stands ready to deepen security cooperation with Mexico to wipe out organized crime on both sides of the border,” something Sheinbaum dismissed indirectly.
Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) has also been extremely vocal about Sheinbaum legitimizing the region’s dictatorships. “While considering renegotiating the free trade deal with the USA, how is it possible that Sheinbaum is helping the narco-terrorist dictatorships of the region? If Mexico continues collaborating with Venezuela and Cuba, it will be treated the same as the pariahs it is sheltering,” he posted on X last month.
And more recently, he has ramped up his own efforts, sending a letter to Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, denouncing the Mexican government for its ties to Cuba, urging them to require Mexico to increase its efforts against narco-terrorists, to stop facilitating the trafficking of medical professionals from Cuba’s forced labor programs, and to end its oil shipments to Cuba.
Dear Secretary Bessent and Secretary Rubio,
As the United States begins renegotiating the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), I urge you to ensure America’s economic and national security interests are fully protected. A key step in doing so is ensuring Mexico ends its disturbing relationship with the murderous regime in Havana.
Recent reporting from The Miami Herald revealed the United Mexican States sent more than $3 billion in oil to the regime in Cuba between May and August this year alone. Not only do these shipments undermine U.S. policy, but are most likely illegal as well.
At a time when Pemex is struggling financially, President Sheinbaum is sending concerning quantities of oil to a dangerous dictatorship with deep operational ties to Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles, a designated foreign terrorist organization. Mexico has conspired with these cartels to weaponize migration into the United States. These terrorist organizations are directly responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans.
The United States must not allow our closest trading partner to continue financing regimes that harbor, finance, and or enable transnational criminal terrorist organizations.
As the USMCA framework is revisited, I urge you to include the following:
1. Require Mexico step up efforts in combating and eliminating narco-terrorist
organizations
2. Require Mexico halt trafficking of medical professionals from Cuba, victims of modern-day slavery
3. Demand Mexico end its oil shipments to the regime in Havana
Incorporating these provisions will strengthen the integrity of the USMCA and advance America’s national security interests. I stand ready to continue work with you on these critical issues.
With any luck, Rubio and Bessent will listen. As I posted on X yesterday, I wish more members of Congress were brave enough to stand up to real dictatorships rather than simply wasting all of their time going after our president for no particular reason.
Anyway, so while the MSM is painting the summit’s postponement as gloom and doom, I think it’s a smart and strategic move. If Trump and Rubio keep on the path they’re on and the folks in Latin America and the Caribbean who are fed up with socialism and organized crime keep on the path they’re on, next year’s summit will look a lot different. It will be a representation of a Western Hemisphere that is headed toward freedom, stability, and strong hemispheric partnerships rather than a bunch of commie pals sticking up for each other.
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