President Trump Hosts Far Right Latin American Leaders At Miami Golf Club To Target China

President Donald Trump convened a “Shield of the Americas” summit at his Trump National Doral golf club in Miami to gather a bloc of ideologically aligned, mostly conservative Latin American leaders under a renewed hemispheric strategy.

“Axios podcast reporter Josephine Walker says President Trump used the "Shield of the Americas" summit to project U”

Axios

Multiple outlets describe the event as a smaller, ideologically aligned forum hosted at Trump’s Doral resort and explicitly name the initiative.

CNN en Español

LatestLY reported Trump “will host a ‘Shield of the Americas’ summit Saturday at his Trump National Doral golf club near Miami.”

EL PAÍS described “A smaller, ideologically aligned summit called the 'Shield of the Americas' will be held at President Trump’s Doral golf club in Miami this Saturday.”

breitbart likewise noted the summit “will host a ‘Shield of the Americas’ summit Saturday at his Trump National Doral Miami golf resort.”

NPR framed the meeting as an exercise to “refocus U.S. foreign policy on the Western Hemisphere amid multiple international crises.”

The invited roster emphasized conservative and pro‑Trump figures while leaving out major regional powers, reinforcing the event’s ideological tilt.

EL PAÍS listed that about 12 regional leaders were expected, including Argentina’s Javier Milei, El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele and Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa, and said major regional players such as Mexico, Colombia and Brazil were not participating.

Diario Presente

Diario Presente similarly enumerated attendees, saying they included Argentina’s Javier Milei, El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele, Chile’s president-elect José Antonio Kast and leaders from Bolivia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago.

Diario Presente explicitly added that leaders of Brazil, Mexico and Colombia were notably absent and described those countries as governed by progressive presidents.

breitbart provided a comparable attendee list, while diariopuntual flagged controversy over the omissions.

Trump timed the Doral meeting amid several acute international crises and recent U.S. operations that regional observers tied to the administration’s assertive posture.

“Trump will receive on Saturday in Florida the leaders of more than a dozen Latin American countries, a meeting the White House called the “Shield of the Americas Summit”

CNN en Español

LatestLY noted the summit comes amid major global crises, including Trump’s recent move to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro (as reported) and a U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran that it said has already cost hundreds of lives.

NPR observed the summit comes shortly after an audacious U.S. operation to capture Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro and the U.S.-Israel military action against Iran.

tv5monde added that Trump has said he would apply to Iran the same method he used in Venezuela — after a reported operation that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro — and has signaled Cuba could be next.

Diario Presente said the meeting was timed before the outbreak of the war with Iran and at a site that will also host this year's G20.

The summit also coincided with Trump’s plan to briefly leave to attend a dignified transfer for six U.S. troops killed in a drone strike, according to several outlets.

The administration presented concrete priorities for the Shield initiative that mix security cooperation, anti-migration measures and a push to blunt China's regional influence.

EL PAÍS summarized the stated objectives: 'The group's stated objectives are to fight drug trafficking and mass migration and to counter China's influence in the hemisphere.'

El Diario NY

LatestLY described the initiative as intended 'to signal a renewed U.S. push to reassert dominance in the region and push back on perceived Chinese economic encroachment, part of an 'America First' approach that would ramp up U.S. military and intelligence presence in the hemisphere.'

NPR likewise said the gathering 'embodies an 'America First' approach that emphasizes heightened U.S. military and intelligence presence in the region.'

tv5monde noted the summit 'will focus on combating illegal immigration and drug trafficking and is intended to assert U.S. influence in the region ahead of Trump's planned China visit.'

Analysts and critics were split over strategy and effectiveness: some warned that excluding major regional powers weakened the approach, while others welcomed clearer U.S. priorities and closer ties with like-minded leaders.

“The President of the United States, Donald Trump, will receive this Saturday, March 7, in Miami about fifteen Latin American leaders at a meeting intended to strengthen political and security alliances on the continent”

diariopuntual

Diario Presente recorded the division: "Analysts are divided: some, like Benjamin Gedan of the Stimson Center, argue excluding major regional powers is a mistake ...; others, like Jason Marczak of the Atlantic Council, say Washington's priorities have been well received and point to cooperation with non-participants on security operations."

El Economista

EL PAÍS and diariopuntual emphasized the political optics and controversy of a parallel forum, with EL PAÍS noting the summit "replaces U.S. plans for a Summit of the Americas in the Dominican Republic after Trump declined to attend" and diariopuntual reporting the gathering "has drawn controversy because Mexico, Brazil and Colombia were not invited."

tv5monde placed the summit in a broader strategic frame in Washington's 2025 security posture.