“US Secretary of State Rubio will visit Panama after Trump’s announcements about seizing the canal Marco Rubio is planning a visit to five countries in Latin America, including Panama, where he will discuss migration and the Panama Canal issue. The trip will be Rubio’s first foreign visit as secretary of state.”, — write on: unn.ua
Rubio’s trip, scheduled for late January to early February, also includes Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic, officials said.
The trip is expected to be Rubio’s first foreign trip as secretary of state, said one former official who was also briefed on the plan. All were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss travel plans publicly.
All individuals also emphasized that travel plans are preliminary.
Late Wednesday night, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce confirmed the overall travel plan and said Rubio chose the Western Hemisphere as a priority because “that’s where we live.”
Taking it back: Trump on the Panama Canal01/20/2025, 20:19 • 86088 views
“We will not continue to ignore the region as other administrations have done,” Bruce said. “Engagement with our neighbors is a vital element in addressing the challenges of migration, supply chains and economic growth that are key to Secretary Rubio’s commitment to a foreign policy that makes America strong, prosperous and secure.”
Rubio is expected to use the trip to highlight at least two issues at the top of MAGA’s foreign policy agenda: reducing illegal immigration and Trump’s push to restore the Panama Canal, according to one current and former official.
Let’s add
Panamanian officials were angered by Trump’s comments about the strategically important waterway.
“The Panama Canal belongs to Panama and will belong to Panama,” Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino said at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week. “The Panama Canal is not a concession or a gift from the United States.”
Other countries Rubio plans to visit, including Guatemala and El Salvador, have also served as major transit points for migrants trying to reach the southern US border.
In one of his first memos to State Department staff, Rubio called mass migration “one of the most important issues of our time” and said that under his leadership the department would work with countries in the Western Hemisphere to reduce illegal immigration and agree on “the repatriation of illegal immigrants.”