The first summit meeting of the Shield of the Americas, held in the Caribbean and Latin America, saw over a dozen countries sign a joint security declaration calling for increased cooperation on international security. However, experts have criticized the coalition's heavy-handed tactics and focus more on centralized control than actual results. Notable absentees were Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil, whose combined GDP accounts for 60% of Latin America’s economy. President Donald Trump stated that the Shield will use "any necessary resources" to destroy “criminal cartels and foreign terrorist organizations” in the Western Hemisphere. Ground operations in Latin America have continued, with a recent raid by Ecuador and Colombia destroying a suspected hideout of drug traffickers near the Ecuador-Colombia border.