Overview
- President Donald Trump signed a proclamation at Trump National Doral creating the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition during the Shield of the Americas summit.
- Trump urged partners to use lethal military force against cartels, even offering U.S. missile strikes if requested, and likened the effort to the anti-ISIS campaign.
- Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned the gathering as neocolonial after Trump said “great change” is coming to Cuba and that the government is in its “last moments of life.”
- About a dozen leaders attended from countries including Argentina, El Salvador and Ecuador, while Brazil, Mexico and Colombia were notably absent.
- Kristi Noem was removed as Homeland Security chief and named special envoy for the initiative as U.S. officials highlighted expanding cooperation, including U.S.-supported operations with Ecuadorian forces against designated narco-terrorist targets.