US President Donald Trump welcomed Latin American leaders to Florida on Saturday, announcing the formation of a military coalition against drug cartels, in line with an argument he has made throughout his second term in office.
Trump has cited drug cartels as a primary reason for increasing his administration’s involvement in Latin America, pressuring Venezuela over the past several months and impeaching Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January.
At least a dozen leaders from Central America, South America and the Caribbean joined what Trump called a “Shield of the Americas” summit as they signed a declaration launching the alliance.
“It’s a huge part of the world, but to fulfill that tremendous potential, we have to break the grip of cartels and criminal gangs and in some cases outright animal-run horrendous organizations and really set our people free,” Trump said.
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Trump posted Thursday that Christie Noem will be the special envoy for the “Shield of the Americas.” Noam was homeland secretary until Trump removed him from the post this week after growing criticism of him from Congress.
Saturday’s meeting gives Trump a chance to bring energy closer to home, even if the conflict in the Middle East has consequences he doesn’t fully control, such as rising oil and gas prices.
But the Trump administration is looking for ways to counter China’s growing influence in the region.
Saturday’s summit comes as Trump prepares for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in late March. The Trump administration hopes to draw Latin America closer to Washington following the growth of Chinese trade, credit and infrastructure investment in the region.
The summit will bring together conservative leaders aligned with Trump on security, immigration and the economy.
Right-wing allies will attend the summit
Argentina’s President Javier Milieu, Chile’s President-elect José Antonio Coste and Salvadoran President Nayeb Bukele, whose gang crackdowns have been criticized by human rights groups, have become models for far-right parts of Latin America.
Politicians from across the region have toured Bukele’s sprawling “mega-prison,” where the United States deported more than 200 Venezuelans without trial last year.
Honduran President Nasri Asfura, who narrowly won a disputed election with Trump’s support, and Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, who has echoed parts of Trump’s economic agenda and recently announced joint operations with the US in a military crackdown on drug trafficking, are also meeting.
Many leaders share Trump’s hard-line views on crime and immigration, favoring deep social solutions and a crackdown on private businesses over the state. Their rise in parts of Latin America reflects a broader rightward turn at a time when the region is being pulled between Washington and Beijing.
Read moreMexico’s president has rejected Trump’s suggestion of US strikes on cartel targets
Countering China’s growing regional influence
Ryan Berg, head of the Americas program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said trade with China could reach a record $518 billion in 2024, with Beijing lending more than $120 billion to governments across the Western Hemisphere.
China’s increased involvement in Latin America — from satellite tracking stations in Argentina and financial support for a port in Peru to Venezuela — has irked successive US administrations.
China has expanded its reach through trade, loans and infrastructure, while the Trump administration has pushed governments in the region to curb Beijing’s role in ports, energy projects and other strategic assets.
That pressure was demonstrated when Panamanian authorities recently moved against a Hong Kong-based firm linked to operations in the Panama Canal, a major global freight channel.
Washington has also taken more direct steps in the region.
The United States impeached Maduro on January 3, moving to seize control of the country’s oil exports and tighten enforcement of the decades-old US embargo on Cuba.
Trump’s move against Maduro is partly intended to counter China’s ambitions and Beijing’s days of raising debt to get cheap oil from Venezuela are “over,” several Trump administration officials told Reuters.
(France 24 with Reuters, AP)
(tags to translate)Americas
