The Trump Cabinet's Visits to Latin America

March 26 to 27: Jamaica, Guyana, Suriname

Rubio’s first visit to the English-speaking Caribbean included stops in Jamaica and Guyana along with a trip to Dutch-speaking Suriname. On his two-day tour, Rubio met with the leaders of these countries as well three other leaders from the 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM) bloc: Mia Mottley, prime minister of Barbados, Stuart Young, prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, and Fritz Alphonse Jean, the head of Haiti’s transitional presidential council. The discussions covered top issues on the U.S.–CARICOM agenda, including energy security, relations with Venezuela, proposed levies on Chinese shipping vessels, insecurity in Haiti, and Cuban medical missions. 

Secretary Rubio signed a Memorandum of Understanding on security cooperation with Guyana on March 27. The agreement is aimed at increasing information sharing and military cooperation as well as collaboration to combat transnational organized crime and drug trafficking, according to official statements. 

February 1 to 6: Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic

In his first trip as top diplomat, Rubio visited four Central American and one Caribbean nation, meeting with the presidents of each country. His priority? Migration. Rubio announced deals with Panama to use land in the Darien Gap for migration flights, with El Salvador to accept convicted criminals from the United States to Salvadoran prisons, and with Guatemala to accept deportation flights of Guatemalan and non-Guatemalan citizens. 

April 14 to 15: Argentina

On April 14, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent met with President Javier Milei of Argentina, one of Latin America’s most prominent supporters of President Trump and the only foreign president seated behind Trump during his inauguration. 

Bessent expressed his “full support for bold economic reforms” that Milei has undertaken and congratulated him for the recent deal the country signed with the International Monetary Fund.

“I was excited to make this trip to begin the first formal discussions on reciprocal trade between our two countries,” Bessent said during a joint statement with the Argentinian president. Milei has been seeking to sign a free trade agreement with the United States. Bessent also met with Secretary of Economy Luis Caputo. 

April 7 to 9: Panama

On April 8, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth met with President José Raúl Mulino of Panama and other Panamanian government officials. Hegseth also visited the Panama Canal amid claims from President Trump that China has influence over the waterway. “China did not build this canal, China does not operate this canal, and China will not weaponize this canal,” he said during his visit. Hegseth called President Mulino a “great ally of the United States” and thanked him for strengthening the cooperation between the two countries. 

Mulino, Hegseth, and Panama Canal Authority Administrator Ricaurte Vazquez released a joint statement during the visit. It announced U.S. warships and auxiliary ships will have expedited transit through the canal and the two countries will establish a mechanism to compensate for the tolls, so that the cost of these transits is neutral. Such mechanisms already exist.

Hegseth also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Panamanian Minister of Security Frank Abrego to collaborate more closely with Panama in security matters, including U.S. presence in three designated joint-use locations. 

June 24 to 26: Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Guatemala. 

Kristi Noem, who helms the U.S. agencies that manage border security and migration, visited four Latin American countries in late June. In Panama, Noem met President José Raúl Mulino and other officials, such as Minister of Security Frank Abrego and Minister of Foreign Affairs Javier Martínez-Acha. Noem called Panama a “key regional ally,” and President Mulino expressed Panama’s interest in continuing to collaborate with the United States on security matters. She announced that the two countries are extending a memorandum of understanding, first signed in July 2024, through which the United States finances repatriation flights from Panama for migrants. The extension includes an additional $7 million commitment. 

The day after visiting Panama, Noem flew to Costa Rica, where she met with President Rodrigo Chaves. She also visited the Los Lagos Detention Center and met with members of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Joint Security Program. Next, Noem visited Honduras, as the first Trump administration cabinet member to do so. She met with President Xiomara Castro. Noem announced both countries signed a statement of intent for biometric cooperation, and called the country a “vital partner” in an inaugural project which voluntarily returns Hondurans to their country.

Lastly, Noem travelled to Guatemala, where she met with President Bernardo Arévalo. After the meeting Noem said the United States had reached agreements with both Honduras and Guatemala to take in refugees. “Honduras and now Guatemala after today will be countries that will take those individuals and give them refugee status as well,” she said. 

Arévalo said Guatemala is still operating under an agreement from February and that no new agreements were signed. Honduras’ immigration director also denied a new agreement being signed. 

March 26 to 28: El Salvador, Colombia, and Mexico

Noem did a three-country swing to promote her efforts around security and deportations. In El Salvador, she met with President Nayib Bukele and toured the CECOT facility where the Trump administration has deported migrants and permanent residents accused of crimes or gang membership. After his visit, Noem released a statement that she wanted to increase deportations and deportation flights.

In Colombia, Noem met with President Gustavo Petro and Minister of Foreign Affairs Laura Sarabia, with whom she signed an agreement to share biometric data. 

Finally, in Mexico, Noem met with President Claudia Sheinbaum. “We had a fruitful meeting with her, benefiting both Mexico and the United States. Our countries maintain a good relationship within a framework of respect for each other's sovereignty,” said Sheinbaum. 

May 25 to 27: Argentina

On May 25, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. traveled to Argentina, where he met with President Javier Milei, who in January attended Trump's inauguration. Kennedy also met with other top government officials during his visit, including Minister of Health Mario Lugones, Minister of Foreign Affairs Gerardo Werthein, and Minister of Deregulation Federico Sturzenegger. 

Kennedy and Lugones issued a joint statement regarding both countries’ withdrawal from the World Health Organization. The statement affirms the Milei administration's February departure decision, which followed Trump’s January announcement. “Under President Donald J. Trump, the United States is restoring a sovereign, results-driven approach—putting people above politics. Argentina, likewise, supports public health systems rooted in autonomy, transparency, innovation, and scientific rigor,” the statement read. 
 

June 25 to 27: Antigua and Barbuda

The secretary of state’s right-hand man flew to the Caribbean country of Antigua and Barbuda to lead the U.S. delegation at the 55th General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), the first under new OAS Secretary General Albert Ramdin. In remarks delivered to the hemispheric body on June 26, Landau questioned whether the OAS was achieving the political objectives laid out in its charter and informed that U.S. participation and financial contributions to the OAS were under review. In 2024, the United States contributed $60.4 million dollars to the OAS budget, about 35 percent of the organization’s planned expenses.

Landau pointed to Haiti and Venezuela as two cases emblematic of what he viewed as OAS inaction. On Haiti, where gang violence has paralyzed most of the capital following the 2021 murder of President Jovenel Moïse and where there are currently no elected government officials, he stated that the United States “cannot continue shouldering this heavy financial burden” to support the Kenya-led and UN-supported multinational security support mission. 

Concerning Venezuela, he referenced the electoral fraud committed in 2024’s presidential election as well as the “sham legislative and regional election” of May 2025. He added that many member countries were hosting “hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of Venezuelan refugees.” For both countries, Landau said that if the OAS “is unwilling or unable” to bring about tangible improvements, the rationale of the organization must be questioned. 

Landau also endorsed the U.S. nomination of Cuban opposition activist Rosa María Payá to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Payá has long advocated for a transition to democracy in Cuba, lobbying for a binding popular referendum on the island’s political system. 

June 10 to 13: Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala

The number two U.S. diplomat Christopher Landau traveled to Mexico, El Salvador, and Guatemala June 10 to 13 where he met with each country’s president. The stated focus on the trip was fostering stronger economic ties and “eradicating illegal immigration.”

On June 11, Landau, who served as U.S. ambassador to Mexico from 2019 to 2021, met with President Sheinbaum where they discussed cooperation on migration and security. "It was more of a courtesy meeting,” Sheinbaum said, noting that Landau introduced himself and his role at State.

The next day, Sheinbaum noted that she expressed to Landau her disagreement with the immigration raids taking place in the United States. She said she planned to speak to President Trump about it at the G7 in Canada from June 15 to 17.

On June 12, he met with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele at the presidential palace. “We have a great partner in President Bukele and we appreciate the leadership of El Salvador in the region,” Landau said.

On June 13, Landau met with Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo. The conversation focused on efforts around migration and the trafficking of drugs and humans. At the meeting, Arévalo announced the creation of a special command within Guatemala's Ministry of Defense that will focus on mitigating transnational criminal threats.