Donald Trump and Marco Rubio kicked off the Shield of the Americas summit on Saturday. In case you missed it, it was the gathering of leaders from 12 right-leaning, United States-aligned Latin American and Caribbean countries to promote “freedom, security, and prosperity in our region.” Much of it seemed to be focused on regional security and fighting the cartels that plague all of us, but from what I saw from the bilateral meetings, there was a lot of focus on economic and other issues.
I think some of the thought going into it was also about keeping China out of the Americas. As Rubio said yesterday, “We want the world to see that when you’re a friend and an ally of the United States, it is a good thing. It’s reciprocated.”
All of the Americas’ cool kids were there, like our favorites, Javier Milei of Argentina and Nayib Bukele of El Salvador, etc. It was a historic moment that I think will be a turning point for our country, the other countries involved, and for the entire world. If it’s successful, no one stands a chance against a strong and unified Western Hemisphere
President Donald J. Trump with leaders from across Latin America at the Shield of the Americas Summit. pic.twitter.com/f9mBTSANei
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 7, 2026
Well, a mostly strong and unified Western Hemisphere. There were some leaders who were obviously left off the guest list, and that says a lot more about them than it does us. Here are what I consider to be the event’s five biggest losers.
Cuban Regime
The fact that Cuba’s communist regime wasn’t invited comes as a surprise to no one. But the way the regime responded to the event was the real proof that it was one of the summit’s biggest losers. In history, the more a falling regime talks, the more desperate it typically is, and Cuba’s “president,” Miguel Díaz-Canel, has been doing an unusual amount of talking lately. In the midst of the summit on Saturday, he used his X account to express his disgust. He said:
The little reactionary and neocolonial Summit of Florida, convened by the United States with the attendance of right-wing governments from the region, commits these to accepting the lethal use of U.S. military force to resolve internal problems, and the order and tranquility of their countries.
It is an attack against the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a #ZonaDePaz, an assault on the aspirations for regional integration, and a manifestation of the willingness to subordinate oneself to the interests of the powerful Northern neighbor under the precepts of the Monroe Doctrine.
Well, the joke’s on Díaz-Canel and company. During his speech on Saturday, President Trump told those gathered that Cuba is at the “end of its line” and that he and Rubio would handle it soon. Those heads of state gave an enthusiastic round of applause after that part of the speech, indicating that they’re all ready for that to happen, too. With Nicolás Maduro out of the picture and Trump keeping Claudia Sheinbaum’s hands tied via threats of sanctions and who knows what else, Cuba is extremely isolated in the region and stuck in the past, which is obvious by its Cold War rhetoric.
Related: The Cuban Regime Has a Growing Problem — and It’s Not Just Trump and Rubio
Colombian People
Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, was not on the guest list for the summit, but he was in the United States this weekend. Somehow, he managed to score himself a speaking spot at Jesse Jackson’s funeral. Why he was invited, I’m not sure. He even admitted that he had only met Jackson once. But Petro’s days in office are numbered, and he’s made it clear that he wants to become some sort of global media sensation who travels the world and whines about climate change, so I imagine he’s trying to get in good with that crowd.
The problem is that Petro, who appears to enjoy partaking in his country’s number one export, made a complete fool of himself. While Trump and Rubio and all these leaders were in Florida vowing to fight the cartels and Chinese influence, Petro was on stage in Chicago, carrying on how when he walks up in the morning, he feels like he’s in Europe in 1933 — that’s the year Hitler came into power, and guess who Hitler is in this scenario? Trump.
He spoke of how, on January 3, when we captured Maduro, he was afraid that a missile was going to come down on him. (Fun fact: It’s nearly 1,000 miles from Bogotá to Caracas.) “And I had to go to the presidential palace to guard the sword of Bolívar, which we have always kept, in order to protect it myself,” he added.
At some point, he began talking about building rainbows for the entire planet, and that’s when the people who were hosting the service told him it was time to wrap it up. Well, they’d been trying to tell him for a while, but he kept talking. It’s super embarrassing to watch. Despite their attempts to get him off stage, he kept going, reaching out to hold one of their hands down and carrying on about how Trump needed to distance himself from Israel. Despite how cringey it was, I imagine someone will invite Petro to speak at the DNC next year.
Ultimately, the Colombian people lost here because their president is more interested in doing… whatever that was rather than actually protecting his country from cartel activity. But the good news is that Colombia can’t stand this commie — I get more emails from people in or from Colombia lately than any other country, complaining about this guy — and when they go to the polls in May, they’re highly likely to vote in a right-wing leader who may very well get an invite to next year’s Shield of the Americas summit. I’ll have more on that soon.
Brazilian People
Brazil wasn’t invited, but it’s no surprise — its president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, chooses his commie ideology over what’s best for his country every single time. As a matter of fact, he was supposed to meet with Trump in Washington later this month, but he has just postponed that due to the conflict in Iran. Don’t be surprised if he doesn’t opt to go meet with Xi Jinping instead. Lula’s entire foreign policy is basically just an XL “I heart China” t-shirt.
He runs the largest economy in Latin America, and while we already have an economic relationship, Trump wants to strengthen it. Lula makes that difficult.
His country is also home to one of the most sophisticated organized crime organizations in the region. Between its factions and rival gangs, cartel-related crime is on the rise. These groups literally run entire parts of Brazil, undermining the government. Donald Trump offered up everything at this summit that could help Brazil change: intel-sharing, joint military ops, U.S. expertise on sanctions and other financial pressure, border security tools, stringer diplomatic ties, etc.
But Lula prefers to defend terrorists and tyrants. He’s been outspoken against Trump’s actions against Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela, so ultimately, the Brazilian people lose.
The good news is that Lula is up for re-election in October, and his biggest opponent, Flávio Bolsonaro, is gaining ground quickly. I would not be surprised if Trump endorses Bolsonaro at some point in the months to come, but it will likely depend on how relations between our two countries go over the next few months.
Delcy Rodríguez
Trump’s praise of Venezuela’s “acting president” Delcy Rodríguez drives a lot of people crazy, but think about this: If he really thought she was the legitimate president and the future leader of that country, wouldn’t he have invited her? For what feels like the 7,834th time, I have to say that Delcy is just a pawn. Trump, Rubio, and other members of the administration run Venezuela, and as I said on Friday, it would be silly for the United States to invite itself to its own party. With any luck, in the next year or two, Venezuela will have a legitimate leader who gets to come to the second or third annual summit.
Mexico
Mexico is officially the biggest loser of them all, in my opinion. It’s our largest trading partner. We share a lengthy border, which means we share a lot of the same security issues. Mexican cartels are the biggest source of crime in the region, and Trump has offered Sheinbaum everything in his arsenal to take them out, even promising to handle it himself. Imagine a world in which we eradicated the Mexican cartels. We might not have as many great TV shows to watch (sorry, I just wrapped up watching Queen of the South), but North, South, and Central America would be so much safer.
At the summit, Trump said that he told Sheinbaum to “let me eradicate the cartels” because they’re taking over her country. She, of course, said no, and probably said something about her nation’s sovereignty and about how the cartels have rights too — those are her go-to lines lately.
But Sheinbaum isn’t any old president — she’s a narco-president. Her reluctance to accept Trump’s offer probably has a lot more to do with her Morena Party’s cartel entanglements than her desire to do what’s best for Mexico’s “sovereignty.” Allegedly. She’s currently walking a fine line between appeasing Trump by making a few concessions and protecting Morena and its, um, interests
Sadly, while there are chances that Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil could end up being invited to next year’s summit, Mexico doesn’t stand a chance. Although at the rate we’re going, by then, Trump may take it over, too. Just kidding. I think. But if more countries join, especially the big ones I’ve listed, Sheinbaum and her cartel pets will find themselves awfully isolated from the rest of the region, and as many leaders throughout history can tell you, that’s never a good thing.
Want to support conservative media? You can do so by becoming a PJ Media VIP member. It’s less than $20 for the entire year, and you get some cool perks too. We can’t wait to have you!
