The Shield of the Americas is a group of countries working together on military and security issues. U.S. President Donald Trump created this group on March 7, 2026, during a meeting with leaders from countries in the Western Hemisphere. The program aims to help countries work together to stop criminal groups that operate in many countries, especially drug cartels in the Americas. President Trump said the group, also called the Americas Counter-Cartel Coalition, would help countries share information and work together to find and break apart cartel networks. The group lets member countries ask for help from other countries, including the United States, to target cartel buildings and drug trafficking paths.

On March 5, 2026, President Trump announced that Kristi Noem would be the first special envoy for the initiative. This announcement was made in the same Truth Social post that said she would no longer be the Secretary of Homeland Security.

On March 7, 2026, President Trump said that leaders from 17 countries had joined the group. The group is focused on using military power to stop and break apart cartel groups and any terrorist networks connected to them. The initiative was introduced during a meeting in Doral, Florida, where leaders from different regions, including Javier Milei from Argentina, Nayib Bukele from El Salvador, Santiago Peña from Paraguay, and others, were present.

History

After Donald Trump won the 2024 United States presidential election, the group known as the Shield of the Americas formed because of political efforts by the incoming second Trump administration. Argentine president Javier Milei, Ecuadorian president Daniel Noboa, and Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele tried to get political, financial, and military support from the new administration. These three leaders were among several world leaders who attended Donald Trump’s second presidential inauguration on January 20, 2025.

Leandro Morgenfeld, a researcher at the Latin American Council of Social Sciences, says that the alignment of Bukele, Milei, Noboa, and Peña with Donald Trump is because Trump has revived the Monroe Doctrine in his foreign policy. He explains that governments in the Americas that do not support the United States may face threats, while those that do support the U.S. may face continued American influence.

The group also shares similar ideas, financial goals, and a desire to gain political support from the United States, even though some countries criticized these actions. The second Trump administration criticized Bukele and Milei for receiving loans from international organizations like the IMF, World Bank, and Inter-American Development Bank, which the U.S. helped fund.

On March 7, 2026, President Trump signed a statement starting the Shield of the Americas initiative, which created a coalition to fight drug cartels and other criminal groups. The event took place at the Shield of the Americas Summit at Trump National Doral Miami. The statement required participating nations to work together on military and law enforcement efforts to stop transnational crime. People present 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 U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

Participating countries

Representatives from the United States and 11 countries in Central and South America, as well as countries from the Caribbean, attended the first meeting of the initiative, including:

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

Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela, and Colombia did not attend the first meeting of the initiative and were not part of the initial gathering.

President-elect of Chile José Antonio Kast and his chosen Minister of Defense, Fernando Barros, were present at the meeting. However, they could not sign the agreement because the previous government led by President Gabriel Boric was not invited or represented.