President Trump Offers Missiles to Latin America to Destroy Cartels

At a Shield of the Americas summit at his Doral golf club, President Donald Trump announced the creation of an Americas Counter-Cartel Coalition and signed a proclamation authorizing coordinated regional action against drug cartels and transnational gangs.

“Buenos Aires, March 7 — At the "Shield of the Americas" summit in Florida, President Donald Trump unveiled a "new military coalition" to twelve Latin American leaders, a plan he framed as aimed at eradicating drug cartels and their terrorist networks”

Agencia Noticias Argentinas

Politico reported that Trump announced a regional security campaign against drug cartels, signed a proclamation to authorize U.S. military action beyond Ecuador, and sought to expand those operations into more than a dozen other Latin American countries.

Agencia Noticias Argentinas

France 24 noted he signed a proclamation creating the coalition and named former Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem as a special envoy.

The Guardian framed the gathering as Trump convening leaders from 12 Latin American countries to promote a new counter-cartel coalition.

Al Jazeera described the initiative as part of a harder hemispheric strategy it called the Donroe Doctrine.

Trump explicitly framed the coalition’s mandate as using military force, including missiles, to target cartel leadership.

Times of Malta reported he "urged a dozen right‑wing Latin American and Caribbean leaders to use military force — reportedly including missiles — to destroy drug cartels he called a 'spreading cancer.'"

Al Jazeera

DW relayed his boastful missile rhetoric: "President Trump said the U.S. could use missiles to target cartel members, boasting about their accuracy and mimicking a missile sound — 'Piu, right into the living room' — adding, 'That's the end of that cartel person.'"

Other outlets likewise captured the escalation in tone, saying he favored "using military force — even missiles — against them."

The summit followed a recent uptick in U.S. military-style operations and high-profile strikes that the administration cited as precedent for wider action.

“Short bullet summary - At a South Florida summit, President Donald Trump launched the “Shield of the Americas” / self-styled “Donroe Doctrine,” framing a hemispheric push to displace rival powers (especially China) and to confront regional crises in Cuba and Venezuela”

Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera reported that U.S. forces have conducted dozens of strikes, including at least 44 aerial strikes on maritime vessels since September that reportedly killed nearly 150 people, and authorized operations inside Venezuela.

Al Jazeera said a January raid, Operation Absolute Resolve, reportedly resulted in the abduction of Nicolás Maduro and at least 80 deaths.

Politico noted U.S. Southern Command has already reported U.S. forces joined Ecuadorian security forces against so-called narco-terrorist groups.

WJAR recorded Trump's claim about Maduro: "We went right into the heart and took him out."

News Mobile added that the plan includes providing partner nations with missile technology to help target cartel leadership.

The coalition’s membership and political tilt were plainly partisan and limited, with a cluster of right-aligned leaders attending while several major regional powers stayed away.

Infobae listed the founding partners by name, including Javier Milei (Argentina), Daniel Noboa (Ecuador), Nayib Bukele (El Salvador), Santiago Peña (Paraguay) and Kamla Persad-Bissessar (Trinidad and Tobago).

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La Estrella de Panamá said Trump praised El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele and Argentina’s Javier Milei.

France 24 and The Guardian observed that the gathering drew largely right-wing leaders.

Multiple outlets noted absences.

Times of Malta and La Estrella de Panamá warned that major drug-route countries such as Mexico and Brazil were not involved and that key countries, Mexico, Brazil and Colombia, are not participating.

The initiative drew immediate legal, human‑rights and geopolitical concerns and sparked international pushback.

“I don’t have the article text—only the dateline "Miami, United States”

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Al Jazeera quoted critics saying "International law experts argue that drug trafficking is a criminal matter that does not legally justify cross‑border military aggression," and observed human‑rights groups "have also criticized regional 'mano dura' crackdowns for abuses, mass incarceration and suspension of civil liberties."

CNN en Español

La Opinion reported that "Russia publicly condemned the U.S. actions and statements."

Vijesti.me cited Reuters on a backdrop of a growing Chinese footprint, noting "record trade ($518 billion in 2024) … over $120 billion in loans" that regional governments are balancing against U.S. ties.

Agenzia Nova flagged that leaders would sign a "Doral Charter" asserting hemispheric self‑determination, underscoring contested regional politics.