Former US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is no longer serving as President Donald Trump’s special envoy for the Shield of the Americas initiative, with her designation expiring last month, a State Department official said on October 15. Noem will continue working on the initiative as a senior adviser to Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.
The development marks a change in Noem’s diplomatic responsibilities, although she remains involved in the administration’s efforts to coordinate security cooperation across the Western Hemisphere. Despite the change, she continued participating in diplomatic meetings linked to the initiative.
Noem’s designation reportedly expired shortly before the United Nations General Assembly in New York last month.
She also attended a gathering of the initiative’s leaders hosted by Trump, who publicly praised her work. The initiative aims to promote cooperation on economic matters, anti-cartel enforcement and other regional issues. Noem’s work included meetings with regional officials, including discussions with Ecuadorian and Colombian diplomats in Washington in September. Her continued involvement means she will remain engaged with the initiative, but without the special envoy designation.
On September 22, she met Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, whose government identified her as the special envoy for the Shield of the Americas.
“I want to thank Kristi Noem for doing a really terrific job,” Trump said during his remarks.
The Shield of the Americas is a coalition established by the Trump administration earlier this year involving the United States and several countries across Latin America and the Caribbean. The change follows Noem’s departure from the Homeland Security Department earlier this year and her subsequent move into the administration ’s diplomatic efforts in the Western Hemisphere.
