Trump warns of imminent action against Cuba at 'Shield of Americas' summit
President Donald Trump joined leaders from over a dozen other countries Saturday morning at a "Shield of the Americas" summit in Doral, Florida, where he boasted of the United States' military actions and issued warnings against Latin American adversaries.
The White House claimed the coalition is committed to cooperating with the U.S. in taking on the cartels and securing the American border following the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Among the invited attendees were: Argentinian President Javier Milei, Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz Pereira, Chilean President-elect Jose Antonio Kast and Honduran President Tito Asfura.
Trump began his remarks talking about the latest developments in the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, telling the grouping of Western Hemisphere leaders that "tremendous progress" has been made.
"It's been a pretty wild time, but it's going very well," Trump said about the military action in Iran.
The summit also comes as the conflict has resulted in major movements in the U.S. energy markets.
"We're doing something. I built the military and rebuilt it and made it really strong. And my first administration, along with a lot of other things we did, we had a great first term, and now we're using it, unfortunately, we have to, but you're seeing how great it is," the president said.
Trump repeatedly touted the U.S. military's actions during his second term highlighting the military operation to capture Maduro, and warning of imminent action in Cuba.
"As we achieve a historic transformation in Venezuela, we're also looking forward to the great change that will soon be coming to Cuba," Trump said. "Cuba's at the end of the line. They're very much at the end of the line. They have no money. They have no oil. They have a bad philosophy. They have a bad regime that's been bad for a long time."
He added, "But Cuba's in its last moments of life as it was. It'll have a great new life, but it's in its last moments of life the way it is."
Trump's relationships with some Latin American leaders have turned tense at times and his policies have drawn criticism. Some leaders criticized the U.S. raid that captured Maduro as an attack on Venezuela's sovereignty.
Trump has also been critical of Mexico's efforts to fight drug cartels and traded barbs with the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro. However, following the Jan. 3 Venezuela raid, the two leaders appeared to have patched up their differences.
Trump invited Petro to the White House and the two issued complimentary statements.
The president signed a proclamation to formally launch "Americas Counter Cartel Coalition" and vowed to go after drug traffickers.
"The heart of our agreement is a commitment to using lethal military force to destroy the sinister cartels and terrorist networks once and for all. We'll get rid of them. We need your help," Trump said.
The summit also comes after Trump announced he was removing Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem from her post and shifting her to a new role as a special envoy for "The Shield of the Americas."
Noem emailed DHS staff overnight on Thursday, informing them that her official final day at the department will be March 31 and writing, "In my new role, I will be able to build on the new partnerships and national security expertise I forged over my time as Secretary of Homeland Security."
The president said in his announcement that he would provide more details about Noem's role at the summit, but he gave no details during the meeting.
Noem was at the meeting along with secretaries Marco Rubio, Howard Lutnick and Pete Hegseth, however she was not mentioned by the president when he personally name checked and thanked the Cabinet members in attendance.
"We want your personality for war," Trump said of Hegseth. "You're just perfect."
Later in the summit, Rubio introduced Noem to the leaders and told them "you will see a lot of her."
"She'll be very involved with each of you at a personal level and on a daily and weekly and monthly level to ensure that what we talk about here today and the work we do together continues on, and we can build upon that," he said.
Noem thanked Trump for the appointment and emphasized the need for collaboration between Western Hemisphere countries to dismantle cartels.
"Our objectives are going to be to destroy the cartels, to go after these narcoterrorists that are destroying our people, killing our children and our grandchildren. We're also going to keep our adversaries at bay," Noem said.
She offered to give all of the leaders her personal cell phone number, "so that you can reach me at any time that you may need something, and we'll work together to continue to make sure that our relationship is a shield to the Americas."
