Participation of Paraguay’s President in America’s Shield Summit Confirmed
On Thursday, Paraguay’s conservative President Santiago Peña announced that Donald Trump will be participating in the upcoming “America’s Shield” summit.
Peña shared this news on social media, stating, “Paraguay will attend this important meeting to strengthen cooperation and joint efforts towards the security and stability of our country,” and included an image of the invitation.
He is among the first leaders to officially confirm attendance at the summit, scheduled for March 7 at Trump National Doral in Miami. Details regarding the summit’s agenda haven’t yet been disclosed.
Earlier in the month, Argentine officials reported that Trump had invited Javier Milei and other pro-American Latin leaders to this summit in Florida. Besides Peña and Milei, guests also include Bolivia’s Rodrigo Paz, El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele, Ecuador’s Daniel Novoa, and Honduras’ Nasri Asufura, according to various reports.
The Costa Rican publication Tico Times revealed that both outgoing President Rodrigo Chávez and president-elect Laura Fernández will also join the summit on March 7. Chávez mentioned that the Shield of the Americas represents a U.S.-led initiative aimed at protecting Latin America from threats like drug trafficking and targeted killings.
“President Donald Trump has invited a select group of Latin American colleagues to gather at one of his hotels in Florida,” Chávez noted, estimating participation from around 12 to 13 countries.
President Peña was also present during the initial session of the Peace Commission on Thursday, having been one of the first to accept Trump’s invitation to join the international group back in January.
During the meeting, Peña expressed his gratitude to Trump for bringing hope back to the region.
“I think you—among many things, [Trump]—have achieved the greatest thing in the last 12 months as president of the United States, and I say this as probably the youngest head of state here, is hope,” Peña remarked. “For decades, we lost hope that we would solve our problems.”
He further elaborated that a formerly broken system is now beginning to address challenges due to Trump’s leadership.
Additionally, Peña discussed matters with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio during the peace committee’s meeting, where Rubio acknowledged Paraguay’s ongoing support in combating narco-terrorism and enhancing regional security.
According to a statement from the State Department, “The Secretary thanked President Peña for his leadership in the region and reaffirmed the strong bilateral partnership between the United States and Paraguay. The Secretary praised the continued progress of reforms to improve Paraguay’s investment climate for U.S. investors.”
