At the “Shield of the Americas” summit at Trump National Doral Miami on March 7, 2026, President Trump repeatedly threatened a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, saying the island nation is “in its last moments of life” and that regime change is “a question of time.”
Trump said: “It may be a friendly takeover. It may not be a friendly takeover.” He suggested the US could turn to Cuba after military operations in Iran conclude, and offered to launch missiles in Latin American countries to combat drug cartels. He claimed four Latin American leaders asked him to “take care of Cuba.”
The summit — the “Americas Counter-Cartel Coalition” — included 17 nations including Argentina's Milei and El Salvador's Bukele. Notably absent were Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia, three of Latin America's largest democracies. Cuban leader Diaz-Canel called the summit “neocolonial.”
A sitting US president openly threatening regime change against a sovereign nation — while already waging one unauthorized war — and hosting the summit at his own resort is a concentration of imperialism, corruption, and constitutional violation in a single event.