Trump Urges Latin Leaders to Deploy Militaries Against Cartels at Doral Summit

President Donald Trump on Saturday urged Latin American leaders gathered at his Doral, Florida, golf resort to deploy their militaries against drug trafficking cartels, calling the groups an "unacceptable threat" to hemispheric security.

The White House-branded "Shield of the Americas" summit brought together leaders from 12 nations — Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago — to Trump National Doral Miami, just 25 miles from Martin County's northern border. The summit was held two months after Trump ordered a U.S. military operation to capture then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on drug conspiracy charges and one week after the U.S. and Israel launched a military campaign against Iran that has left hundreds dead and rattled global markets.

For Treasure Coast residents, the summit carries direct implications. Florida's congressional delegation has long tied regional cartel activity to fentanyl and synthetic drug flows through South Florida ports, with Martin and St. Lucie counties recording repeated federal drug interdiction operations in the St. Lucie Inlet and along Interstate 95. Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), whose FL-21 district covers both counties, has been a vocal supporter of designating cartels as foreign terrorist organizations — a step the Trump administration took earlier this year.

"The only way to defeat these enemies is by unleashing the power of our militaries," Trump told assembled leaders. "We have to use our military. You have to use your military." Citing the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State group, he said the hemisphere "must now do the same thing to eradicate the cartels at home." Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, excluded from the gathering, pushed back sharply on social media, calling the summit "small, reactionary and neocolonial" and accusing Washington of committing regional governments "to accept the lethal use of U.S. military force to resolve internal problems."

Absent were Brazil, Mexico and Colombia — historically the pillars of U.S. anti-narcotics strategy in the region. Trump called Mexico the "epicenter of cartel violence," adding, "The cartels are running Mexico. We can't have that. Too close to us. Too close to you." Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) hosted the leaders for a working lunch after Trump departed for Dover Air Force Base to receive the remains of six U.S. troops killed in a drone strike in Kuwait. Trump is scheduled to travel to Beijing later this month to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

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