Shield of the Americas

The Shield of the Americas is a multinational military coalition established by U.S. President Donald Trump during a summit with leaders from countries across the Western Hemisphere. The program is intended to coordinate military and security efforts among participating nations to combat transnational criminal organizations, particularly drug cartels operating throughout the Americas. According to President Trump, the initiative, also described as Americas Counter-Cartel Coalition, would involve participating countries sharing intelligence and coordinating operations to locate and dismantle cartel networks. The coalition allows member states to request assistance from partners, including the United States, in targeting cartel infrastructure and trafficking routes.

On March 5, 2026, President Trump announced that Kristi Noem would be the inaugural special envoy for the initiative, in the same Truth Social post that announced her replacement at DHS.^[2]

On March 7, 2026, President Trump stated that representatives from 17 nations had joined the initial alliance, which centers on the commitment to use military capabilities to disrupt and dismantle cartel organizations and associated terrorist networks. The initiative was presented during a summit in Doral, Florida attended by regional leaders, including Javier Milei of Argentina, Nayib Bukele of El Salvador, Santiago Peña of Paraguay, and other representatives.^[3][4]

The grouping that became the Shield of the Americas emerged out of political lobbying of the incoming second Trump administration after Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 United States presidential election. Through lobbying, Argentine president Javier Milei, Ecuadorian president Daniel Noboa, and El Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele seeking to secure political, financial, military support from the incoming administration.^[5] All three would be among several heads of state at Donald Trump’s second presidential inauguration on January 20, 2025.

Leandro Morgenfeld, coordinator for the study group on the U.S. of the Latin American Council of Social Sciences, argues that the alignment of Bukele, Milei, Noboa, and Peña with U.S. president Donald Trump is due to the latter’s revival of the Monroe doctrine in foreign policy. He explains that governments in the Americas that don’t align with the United States are subject to threats, while those that are aligned become subject to American neocolonialism.^[6]

The grouping is also informed by ideological alignment, priorities in finance, and securing political support from the United States, amidst international criticism. U.S. President Trump’s second administration was critical of Bukele and Milei securing loans from the IMF, World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank through the U.S.’s vote share on such institutions.^[7]

On March 7, 2026, President Trump signed a proclamation launching the Shield of the Americas initiative, establishing an Americas Counter-Cartel Coalition. The signing took place at the Shield of the Americas summit at Trump National Doral Miami. The proclamation commits participating nations to coordinate military and law enforcement efforts to combat transnational criminal organizations, particularly drug cartels. Attendees included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.^[8]

Representatives from the United States and 11 countries in Central and South America, as well as countries from the Caribbean, attended the inaugural summit, namely:

• Argentina
• Bolivia
• Costa Rica
• Dominican Republic
• Ecuador
• El Salvador
• Guyana
• Honduras
• Panama
• Paraguay
• Trinidad and Tobago
• United States

Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela and Colombia were notably absent from the summit and did not participate in the initial meeting of the initiative.^[9]

President-elect of Chile José Antonio Kast and his nominated Minister of Defense, Fernando Barros attended the meeting, but not in an official capacity as they could not legally sign the agreement because the then government of President Gabriel Boric was not invited nor represented.

• Board of Peace, another organization founded and chaired by Donald Trump
• Inter-American Peace Force
• Latin America–United States relations
• Monroe Doctrine
• Operation Southern Spear
• Rio Pact

• Shield of the Americas