Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a Meeting with Shield of the Americas Heads of State and Foreign Ministers

SECRETARY RUBIO: Sorry to be a few minutes late, but don't - (Via interpretation) I think everyone speaks Spanish, except a few, here, right? So I'll mix it up.

(In English) I'll do it in Spanglish. Is that good? (Laughter.) Bueno. Primera, muchas gracias.

Thank you all for being here, and I apologize for a few minutes of being delayed. We had a meeting we just wrapped up. The President will join us soon. But obviously this is an initiative the President is very proud of and very committed to. I think one of the most exciting developments in our region over the last couple years has been the emergence of strong leaders who are committed to the challenge of taking on transnational terrorism, which is an enormous threat to all of us.

These are groups that unlike in the past were simply drug cartels that were involved in illicit activity. These groups today are sophisticated. In many cases they rival the state in terms of the resources available to them, be they financial or military or even in intelligence gathering. And the key part is that they are transnational. They cross - they don't recognize borders and they operate in multiple countries and in connection and coordination with one another. And so the enemies of peace are going to coordinate, then so too those of us who have an obligation to protect our people and the sovereignty of our countries need to coordinate as well.

And that was always the idea behind the Shield, is like-minded democratically elected leaders committed to this challenge. But it's not just about the transnational crime. That is certainly at the cornerstone of what we're doing together. It's also the opportunities to partner up on the economic front and the diplomatic front to speak in one voice, in unison, on issues that unite us and to be able to in international forums, as an example, potentially vote together and pool of our diplomatic resources as well to act in concert in the common interests that we share.

(Via interpretation) In Spanish now, one of the things that's happened to us in recent years - one of the most promising things we've done - is this alliance that we're building among the countries that are here today. And since the last time, we've added two members. The last time we met, we've added two members come to this group of countries that are 100 percent committed to take on these criminals, these terrorists, that are affecting our region.

These are groups that operate in different countries; they don't recognize borders. They collaborate with each other. They don't recognize the sovereignty of our nations. And sometimes they have the same resources the state has and sometimes even more resources than the state has. Sometimes they're more sophisticated than the states. And the only way to take them on and to face these criminals and terrorists is for us to come together and coordinate our efforts to defeat them.

This is an important alliance also because it gives us the opportunity to act jointly on economic issues and diplomatic issues. Our voice can be spoken in unison, and we get strength through this type of unity and one of the things that we're focusing on.

The President will be here with us in a few moments and we'll be able to have a little bit more time to focus on this. But I'm very grateful to be here with you again. And again, the President will be here in a few moments. Welcome, all of you, and thank you for participating in this meeting.

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