Welcome to "The New Monroe Doctrine," where I give you an update on what's going on in the Western Hemisphere, south of our border, especially as it relates to the United States.
Shield of the Americas
Well, folks, the moment is upon us. If you've been reading this column for the last month, you know that I've been teasing this big meeting of Latin American leaders — those aligned with the United States — in Miami, hosted by Donald Trump and Marco Rubio. That will happen on Saturday, March 7, and I am not sure how much will be made public (though I do know someone who will be there, so fingers crossed, I get some info), but I'll be around to cover what I can. I think this marks the official beginning of an exciting — and historic — moment for the United States and our entire region.
According to Rubio, the summit will include leadership and heads of state from 13 countries. I can confirm 12:
- Argentina
- Bolivia
- Chile
- Costa Rica
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Guyana
- Honduras
- Panamá
- Paraguay
- Trinidad and Tobago
I have heard rumors that number 13 could be Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, but I can't confirm that one. Note that Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia were not invited, nor was Venezuela's Delcy Rodríguez, because she's not really a head of state. We run that country, and inviting ourselves to our own summit would be redundant.
Initially, the reason for the summit was said to be to "stop China’s encroachment in the region," but Karoline Leavitt has described it as promoting "freedom, security, and prosperity in our region." Same thing? I imagine it will be a good bit of both anti-cartel measures and anti-China measures, along with some economic stuff. I also imagine that there will be a lot of talk about the future of Venezuela and Cuba because it's going to take a regional effort to make them totally great again.
But this is a good team. These countries are all aligned or are ready to align with the United States and move away from China. They largely agree with everything Trump has done globally. They all have conservative or right-leaning leadership who are ready to take a hardline stance against the cartels and organized crime that plagues the Americas. As the Trump administration has stated, they are the "ISIS and the Al-Qaeda of the Western Hemisphere," and they must be dealt with.
Assuming this becomes a regular thing, I think Colombia, after its elections in a few months, and Venezuela, after it elects a real leader, will be able to join. Who knows, after Brazil's October elections, it may even get to join Team Americas. I don't have a lot of hope for Mexico, but Trump may have something up his sleeve.
Maybe I'm just a big dork, but I'm really excited about this. I'm tracking all the presidential planes coming into Miami as I write this.
We're Gonna Need a Bigger Military
The Summit follows the Pentagon's Americas Counter-Cartel Conference, which Catherine has been writing about over the last 48 hours. It included "defense and security leaders from 17 countries across the Western Hemisphere."
She quotes Pentagon Chief Spokesman Sean Parnell as saying, "The Department of War values the strong partnerships that make collective action possible to prevent external powers from interfering in our neighborhood and confronting shared threats. We look forward to working with these committed nations to support efforts that strengthen regional cooperation and advance a safe, secure, and prosperous Western Hemisphere."
Here's something I don't think a lot of people realize. Many of those partnerships were quietly ramping up before all of this hit the news this week, with more, potentially, still to come. Here's a sample:
Ecuador: We saw proof of this over the past week. The once peaceful Ecuador became a major cartel hub over the last decade, and the current president, Daniel Noboa, has been fighting it for two years now. Joe Biden wasn't much help, but U.S. forces have been working on the ground, conducting joint operations there to help the Ecuadorians dismantle terrorist organizations and reclaim their country. Those ramped up this week. Here's some cool new video from SOUTHCOM:
U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) is continuing to work with Western Hemisphere allies and partners to “detect, disrupt, and destroy designated terrorist organizations that fuel violence and corruption.” As a part of this, SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan “directed the… pic.twitter.com/qXyHRWyr6Z
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 7, 2026
Paraguay: This week, Paraguay's Senate overwhelmingly voted to approve the U.S.-Paraguay Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) that Rubio and the country's foreign minister signed in December. It will allow our military personnel to enter that country for training, provide $100M in gear to bolster border security against narco-trafficking from neighboring countries, and support other anti-cartel cooperation.
Today Foreign Minister Ramirez and I marked a new era in the U.S.-Paraguay relationship with the signing of a Status of Forces Agreement. By establishing a framework for the activities of U.S. military and @DeptofWar civilian personnel in Paraguay, this agreement opens new doors… pic.twitter.com/jVG06HpXNe
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) December 15, 2025
Costa Rica: As I wrote earlier this week, Costa Rica hasn't had a military in nearly 80 years. However, an advisor to the new president-elect has suggested allowing the United States to open up military bases in three regions of the country that have become major cartel drug routes. It would take some constitutional amendments to make it happen, but that's not out of the question. The country is getting serious about fighting the growing crime wave there. In December, it agreed to allow 195 U.S. Coast Guard vessels to patrol and dock there through 2026.
Here are a few more you may not be aware of:
- Dominican Republic has extended temporary U.S. access to the San Isidro Air Base and Las Américas International Airport through April 2026 for counternarcotics operations.
- In January, the State Department approved a potential $1.5 billion Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to Peru for the design and construction of upgraded maritime and onshore facilities at the Callao Naval Base. But this isn't just about anti-cartel operations — China operates a massive port nearby.
- Argentina and the U.S. are currently negotiating the idea of placing a U.S. naval base in Ushuaia, Patagonia — it's strategic for monitoring Antarctic resources and Chinese fishing fleets in the South Atlantic.
- In February, Guyana signed a defense pact with the U.S. for training and exercises and protecting Exxon oil fields in the Stabroek Block from lingering Venezuelan threats (Venezuela and Guyana have been at it for years)
As Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said at the Counter-Cartel Conference, "America is prepared to take on these threats and go on the offense alone, if necessary. However, it is our preference, and it is the goal of this conference, that in the interest of this neighborhood, we all do it together with you, with our neighbors and with our allies who are eager and willing and capable."
Given that crime and cartel activity are the single most important reasons why these Caribbean and Latin American countries are voting in more conservative candidates, I am confident they will step up as much as they possibly can. The next three years are going to be wild to watch in the Western Hemisphere.
And after years of worrying more about whether our military had enough trans people in it or whatever the Biden administration did, it's great to see it's being put to good use, and it's wonderful that our allies in the region are stepping up for all of these joint operations against the cartels (and China). It's fun to be on offense again, instead of lying down and letting the world walk all over us, too.
A Few More Things:
Ironically, despite all the news out of Iran, Venezuela, and Cuba has kept me quite busy this week (how does Trump do it all?), so I haven't been able to dive too deep into what's going on in any other countries in the Western Hemisphere. As always, feel free to email me (link is in my bio) if there's something you'd like to see more of or learn more about. I am slow to respond, but I do read them! Anyway, here are a few more things I covered or thought you might find interesting from this week.
1. Trump keeps saying the Cuban regime is "desperate for a deal," but you don't need to listen to experts to see the signs. The regime itself puts them out there daily: Cuba Desperation Update: Ignore the 'Experts.' Just Listen to the Regime Itself.
2. Speaking of Cuba, Trump says it will fall soon, and he's... sending Marco? I know Rubio is in talks with various people, but thinking about him physically being there running the show (assuming that's what Trump actually meant) almost brings tears to my eyes. What a time to be alive. And what an amazing full-circle personal moment for our secretary of state.
3. A lot of news out of Venezuela this week and most of it good:
- We reset our diplomatic relationship after over seven years, and Shell signed numerous gas and oil contracts.
- Many more political prisoners were released, but human rights group Foro Penal now says 526 remain detained, and 11 are "missing." It also says that 49 are foreign nationals.
- Opposition leader María Corina Machado has plans to return to Venezuela "soon," while rumor has it that the Trump admin is preparing an indictment for Delcy to help keep her in line. The DOJ denies this, but several media outlets stand by it, including some I actually trust.
- Interior Secretary Doug Burgum visited MAGA Delcy, and after, she stood on the palace steps and thanked Donald Trump for this wonderful opportunity. Diosdado Cabello most hurt.
"But I still haven't lost my arrechera" 😂 https://t.co/N4XGEepwqS
— SarahDownSouth (@SarahDownSouth) March 4, 2026
4. Colombia's Gustavo Petro didn't make the invite list to the Shield of Americas summit, but he did, for some reason, speak at Jesse Jackson's funeral on Friday. He is obviously preparing for the fact that he won't have a job in few months when Colombia elects a new president and hoping to hop into the global left-wing media circuit. During his speech, he trashed Trump, may have mentioned Hitler... and said that when we arrested Nicolás Maduro, he thought that a missile was going to fall on him? In Colombia. What a dope. I believe they had to cut his mic.
Communist Gustavo Petro, president of Colombia lashes out again President Trump from Chicago, criticizing U.S. intervention in Venezuela: ‘We even thought a missile was going to fall on me; I ran to put away the Liberator’s sword.’ pic.twitter.com/hqN2Pn5CRo
— Emmanuel Rincón (@EmmaRincon) March 6, 2026
5. Costa Rica's bada** president-elect, Laura Fernández, who will be in Miami on Saturday, is already throwing shade at Claudia Sheinbaum. During an interview this week, she said bluntly, "Mexico is, for me, a reference of where we don't want to go." Burn!
I love her already. https://t.co/qzpI2XWbPP
— SarahDownSouth (@SarahDownSouth) March 6, 2026
6. But it was our favorite Argentine president, Javier Milei, who dropped the line of the week. He was doing his version of the State of the Union, when he said "The left can't applaud me because their hands are in other people's pockets." The right-wing lawmakers in attendance erupted into cheers and applause themselves. I love that guy.
Wait.
— Jack (@jackunheard) March 3, 2026
I think Argentine President Javier Milei just delivered one of the greatest lines of all time:
"The left can't applaud me because their hands are in other people's pockets."pic.twitter.com/X7zleAGw9U
Well, that's it for me. As I say Rubio isn't handing me exclusives... yet. I imagine he's preparing for Saturday's summit, and hey, maybe even packing for Cuba. But given that we've reset our diplomatic relations with Venezuela and we're about to take Cuba over, I'm thinking that in lieu of exclusives, I would totally welcome a job in one of these countries — ambassador, public affairs, personal writer of articles telling everyone what great progress we're making... I'm not picky.
Have a great weekend, y'all!
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