Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana have joined a newly established regional military alliance known as the Americas Counter-Cartel Coalition, aimed at intensifying the fight against drug trafficking networks and transnational organised crime across the hemisphere.
The two Caribbean nations signed onto the initiative after United States President Donald Trump endorsed the Doral Charter during the Shield of the Americas summit in Doral.
Addressing invited regional leaders at the summit, Trump said the coalition would rely on decisive military action to dismantle criminal networks.
“The heart of our agreement is a commitment to using lethal military force to destroy the sinister cartels and terrorist networks once and for all. We’ll get rid of them. We need your help,” Trump told attendees.
He added that partner countries would play a key role in identifying cartel operations.
“You have to just tell us where they are. We have amazing weaponry, as you probably noticed over the last short period of time,” he said.
During the signing ceremony, Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar stood to Trump’s right and was presented with the pen used to sign the agreement — a symbolic gesture that drew visible appreciation from the Trinidadian leader.
Persad-Bissessar has remained supportive of an expanding United States military presence in the Caribbean and wider regional efforts to combat drug cartels.
Trump told participating leaders that organised crime has taken a heavy toll across the region but insisted that coordinated action could reverse the trend.
“I saw it so badly, how you’re suffering with what’s happening with the crime in the region,” he said. “And I said, if we ever come back, we’re going to eradicate that crime, and I’m going to work with you, and if you want, we’re going to do it, we can do it pretty easily.”
Other countries present at the summit included Paraguay, Dominican Republic, Panama, Honduras, El Salvador, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina.
Trump said the region had vast potential but warned that criminal groups were holding countries back.
“The nations gathered here today are filled with unlimited potential,” he said. “But to fulfil that tremendous potential, we must smash the grip of the cartels and criminal gangs and horrible organisations run by, in some cases, absolute animals.”
Meanwhile, Guyana reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening regional security co-operation during the inaugural Americas Counter-Cartel Conference held at the United States Southern Command headquarters in Florida.
Speaking at the meeting, Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips said Guyana intends to play an active role in joint operations aimed at disrupting narcotics trafficking, narco-terrorism and other transnational criminal activity.
“Guyana and the United States share a strong and expanded strategic partnership built on mutual trust and robust defence and security co-operation,” Phillips said, pointing to ongoing collaboration through joint exercises, capacity building and policy engagement.
He warned that the growing reach of criminal cartels and gangs presents a serious threat to regional stability.
“These networks undermine the rule of law, weaken institutions and threaten the safety and economic well-being of our citizens,” Phillips said. “For countries like Guyana, located along important maritime and regional transit corridors, addressing narco-trafficking and narco-terrorism requires strong co-operation among our nations.”
Phillips added that the evolving nature of organised crime makes intelligence sharing, operational coordination and stronger defence capabilities increasingly necessary across the hemisphere, while stressing that all efforts must respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of participating states.
