Share and Follow
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is set to host a summit with Latin American leaders in Florida next month, a strategic move highlighting the administration’s concerns over China’s growing influence in the region.
A White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to the event not being officially announced, confirmed the summit is scheduled for March 7. This gathering occurs shortly before President Trump plans to visit Beijing for discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Trump administration has emphasized its goal of reinforcing American leadership in the Western Hemisphere, an area where China has established significant sway through substantial loans and trade agreements.
Last month, the U.S. carried out a bold military operation aimed at deposing Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, subsequently bringing him and his wife to New York to face federal charges related to drug conspiracy.
President Trump has defended the operation and America’s continued involvement in Venezuela’s oil sector by citing the need to counteract Chinese and Russian influence in the South American nation.
“One thing I think everyone has to know is that if we didn’t do this, China or Russia would have done it,” Trump told oil industry officials at a White House meeting just days after Maduro’s capture.
China is the largest purchaser of Venezuelan oil, though the purchases only account for a small fraction of Beijing’s overall seaborne imports.
Trump has also threatened to seize control of the Panama Canal, saying the waterway was “vital to our country” and falsely claiming, “it’s being operated by China.”
The Panama Canal — a crucial trade passage that links the Atlantic and Pacific – was built by the U.S. in the early 20th century. It was then operated by the U.S. for decades before Washington handed full control of the canal to Panama in 1999. Panama’s high court recently annulled Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison’s contract to operate two ports on the canal.
Trump thrust Panama into the spotlight even before winning a second term in the White House, suggesting the U.S. consider retaking control of the canal and accusing Panama of ceding influence to China.
The Trump administration this week also expressed concern over China’s control over critical infrastructure in Peru after a Peruvian court ruling restricted a local regulator’s oversight of Chinese-built deepwater port Chancay.
The U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs said on social media on Wednesday that it was concerned that “Peru could be powerless to oversee Chancay, one of its largest ports, which is under the jurisdiction of predatory Chinese owners.”
The department said: “We support Peru’s sovereign right to oversee critical infrastructure in its own territory. Let this be a cautionary tale for the region and the world: cheap Chinese money costs sovereignty.”
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.