Doral Summit 2026: While Washington Gathers its Allies, Haiti is Sidelined

PORT-AU-PRINCE.— U.S. President Donald Trump is set to gather several heads of state and government from Latin America and the Caribbean this Saturday in Doral, Florida, for the Shield of the Americas Summit, a diplomatic initiative aimed at strengthening security cooperation in the Western Hemisphere.

According to the White House, the objective of this meeting is to consolidate a regional coalition around common priorities such as the fight against drug trafficking cartels, transnational crime, and the management of irregular migratory flows towards North America. Discussions are also expected to cover political coordination among governments considered close to Washington in the current geopolitical context.

Several Latin American and Caribbean leaders are among the invited guests. These include Argentine President Javier Milei, Salvadoran Head of State Nayib Bukele, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, and Paraguayan President Santiago Peña.

The Caribbean will be notably represented by Dominican President Luis Abinader, whose participation illustrates the growing role of the Dominican Republic in regional discussions related to security and migration issues.

However, Haiti is not among the announced delegations. No official representative of the government led by Alix Didier Fils-Aimé appears on the list of participants released by U.S. authorities.

This absence comes, however, in a context where the Haitian political and security crisis remains one of the major concerns of the Caribbean region, marked by the expansion of armed groups, institutional collapse, and increasing migratory pressure towards neighboring countries and North America.

Furthermore, several major Latin American powers, including Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia, have also not been associated with this initiative. The summit primarily brings together a restricted group of governments considered political allies of the U.S. administration.

It should be noted that a few weeks ago, the Trump administration had played all its cards to keep Alix Didier Fils-Aimé in charge of Haiti, arguing that the current head of a single-headed executive would be ideal for the fight against organized crime, even though Fils-Aimé, Washington's protégé, is being ignored in the context of this summit.

It should be emphasized that the organization of this meeting in Doral is part of Washington's diplomatic strategy aimed at consolidating a regional bloc aligned with its security and migratory priorities, in a context marked by geopolitical realignments in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Jean Mapou / Le Relief