DORAL, Fla. — Doral Mayor Christi Fraga said she first learned about Saturday’s “The Shield of the Americas” summit while in Washington D.C. a few weeks back.
“When I was in the Oval Office, they had been talking about having this summit in Washington,” Fraga explained from her office Thursday. “While I was there, they made the decision to have it in Doral.”
Local 10 News’ Christina Vazquez caught up with Fraga while her team was busy preparing for Friday’s official welcome reception in partnership with the U.S. State Department. The invitation-only event will convene arriving Latin American heads of state, regional leaders and key stakeholders, said the mayor, including local business owners.
“It’s an exciting time in Doral,” said Fraga. “The eyes of the world will be on Doral and Miami-Dade County. This is just one of many events that’ll take place here over the coming months and leading into the G20 at the end of the year.”
A spokesperson for the White House confirmed for Local 10 News on Thursday the goal of the summit featuring Latin American heads of state is to promote “freedom, security, and prosperity.”
“So it’ll be an interesting conversation and taking place right here in our community,” said Fraga. “We’re the gateway to the Americas. They want to showcase American ingenuity and businesses and promote to buy more American made.”
The president of Paraguay posed a picture of his invitation to the summit at Trump National Doral Miami on Instagram.
A White House spokesperson confirmed the other countries invited include Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and Trinidad and Tobago.
TRAFFIC AND SECURITY: WHAT TO KNOW
Doral Police Chief Edwin Lopez spoke with Vazquez as he was departing from a planning meeting with Fraga, explaining that when it comes to traffic, “We do expect congestion in the area, obviously, but we will have plenty of officers on the scene.”
He added while patrol officers will be directing traffic, “We do expect a lot of visitors and so we ask the community for patience during this critical time.”
When it comes to security, Lopez said local law enforcement will be working in collaboration with state and federal law enforcement in support of event security.
“Luckily, we have an amazing relationship with both our law enforcement partners at the state and federal level,” said Lopez. “We do ask the community, if they see something, to please say something. Any suspicious activity, anything that’s out of the norm, to notify us. Call 911 or go to the local police station because obviously we have all hands on deck this weekend.”
A spokesperson for the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said they will also be assisting in a support role.
“BUILDING A RIGHT-WING SOUTH AMERICAN ALLIANCE”
Adam Ratzlaff, founder and CEO of Pan-American Strategic Advisors and Consultant in Inter-American Affairs at Florida International University, says the guest list appears to represent a handpicked group that align more closely with the Trump administration ideologically.
“If you look at who’s been invited to the summit, it’s largely countries that have recently elected right wing leaders,” he said.
Ratzlaff recently published analysis about the summit, saying that in his view, “Relying on close personal or ideological relations between individual leaders—particularly in democratic societies where the political winds will eventually shift—runs the risk of undermining the development of longer-term bilateral relations.”
“We’ve seen a shift to the right across the region,” explained Ratzlaff. “And the 13 heads of state that have been invited are all part of that new wave towards the right, whether it’s Javier Milei in Argentina, Nayib Bukele in El Salvador, or recent elections in Bolivia and Chile.”
NOEM’S INVOLVEMENT
From DHS Secretary to Special Envoy for ‘The Shield of the Americas’, Kristi Noem is getting a new title pertaining to this Western Hemisphere security initiative.
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