Executive Branch

Trump Announces Military Coalition With Latin American Leaders to Eradicate Cartels

More than a dozen Latin American leaders joined the U.S. president to launch a new security initiative, called ‘The Shield of the Americas’ in Miami.
Trump Announces Military Coalition With Latin American Leaders to Eradicate Cartels
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he hosts the “The Shield of the Americas Summit,“ a gathering with heads of state and government officials from 12 countries in the Americas at the Trump National Doral Golf Club in Doral, Fla., on March 7, 2026. Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images
Emel Akan
Emel Akan
Senior Reporter
&
T.J. Muscaro
|Updated:
0:00

DORAL, Fla.—U.S. President Donald Trump on March 7 welcomed his Latin American allies to Florida for a summit focused on addressing regional issues and announced a new military coalition to combat drug cartels in the Western Hemisphere.

“On this historic day, we come together to announce a brand new military coalition to eradicate the criminal cartels plaguing our region,” Trump said as he began his remarks at the summit.

Emel Akan is a senior White House correspondent for The Epoch Times, where she covers the policies of the Trump administration. Previously, she reported on the Biden administration and the first term of President Trump. Before her journalism career, she worked in investment banking at JPMorgan. She holds an MBA from Georgetown University.
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