The Shield of the Americas is a coalition for prosperity based on the fight against crime that supplanted politics.

By: Carlos Sánchez Berzaín - 08/03/2026

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21st-century socialism, or Castro-Chavismo, under the Cuban dictatorship, supplanted politics with organized crime, seized control of governments in Latin America, and shifted the focus of ideological confrontation to crimes against freedom. Using anti-imperialist rhetoric, this transnational organized crime group established dictatorships/narco-states in Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia, and Ecuador, as well as quasi-dictatorial governments, all infiltrated by or tolerant of crime, and aligned with the extra-hemispheric dictatorships of China, Iran, and Russia. The Shield of the Americas is the initiative to end this criminal operation.

At the “Shield of the Americas” summit, President Trump, 47, called for “restoring law and order” through a zero-tolerance policy against organized crime. He asserted that “drug trafficking in the Americas is centered in Mexico,” stating that “the epicenter of cartel violence is Mexico. Mexican cartels are fueling and orchestrating much of the bloodshed and chaos in this hemisphere, and the United States government will do whatever is necessary to defend our national security.” He highlighted the operation to capture Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela and reiterated that the Cuban dictatorship “is living its final moments.”

Since the First Summit of the Americas in 1994, Latin American leaders have not seen a clearer and more decisive position than that expressed on March 7, 2026, by the President of the United States, explained and expanded upon by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. It is a categorical affirmation that the confrontational approach employed by 21st-century socialism—the “crime against democracy”—will be defeated and overcome, and that politics and the political sphere will reclaim their rightful place.

We are living through the most important historical phase in the recovery of freedom and democracy in the Americas, with global repercussions. It is time—without hesitation—for the restoration of the essential elements of democracy: “respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; access to and exercise of power subject to the rule of law; the holding of periodic, free, fair elections based on universal and secret suffrage as an expression of the sovereignty of the people; a pluralistic system of political parties and organizations; and the separation and independence of the branches of government.”

The United States' "National Security Strategy" is proving to be the security of all democracies in the Americas. It involves identifying the enemies of freedom and human rights violators, reclaiming each country for its citizens, and paving the way to prosperity. The United States has once again become a key player in the present and future of the Western Hemisphere, and the result is a firm commitment—through concrete actions—to end the crime that has usurped republican politics and values.

The United States has understood that to protect its national security, it cannot have a hemisphere controlled by organized crime that attacks it with hybrid warfare tactics. It has identified the problem and the enemies, and has decided to reconnect with its natural allies: the peoples of the Americas. Now it remains to be seen whether Latin American leaders are up to the challenge and—beyond mere protocol and speeches—will be effective in empowering their people.

The Shield of the Americas is the path to prosperity. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed this at the Summit, noting that “there is a very strong focus on the opportunities we have to work together economically, but you cannot have economic progress without security.” Special Envoy Kristi Noem emphasized that “the first objective will not only be sovereignty, but also migration control, and we will work for economic prosperity. We will have to, and we will, push back these harmful foreign influences that have entered many of our businesses, our technologies, and that we have seen infiltrate different areas of our way of life.”

Some countries, like El Salvador, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic, have made great progress, while others, like Bolivia, must begin dismantling dictatorships/narco-states and the penetration of China, Iran, and Russia, or dismantle provincial (state-controlled) narco-states, as in Argentina. Most of these countries carry heavy legacies from the past, including Chinese and other loans and investments, indelible marks of corruption, and significant internal pressure from the newly rich and the neo-bourgeoisie of 21st-century socialism.

Dismantling the infiltration of organized crime in countries that have signed the Shield of the Americas requires ending dictatorial legislation that fosters corruption, refusing to tolerate or be complicit in impunity, and replacing short-term thinking with a strategic vision. The initiative that begins in Miami needs statesmen who think not about the next election but about the next generation, and it remains to be seen—in each case and country—whether local arrangements will prevent this.

*Lawyer and Political Scientist. Director of the Interamerican Institute for Democracy.

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