WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio will make his first official trip abroad next week to Central America, including a stop in Panama, which President Donald Trump has riled with talk of trying to reclaim the Panama Canal.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio's visit to Central America comes after President Donald Trump has repeatedly promised to take the Panama Canal back.
Marco Rubio will travel to Panama on his first trip abroad as secretary of State. The visit comes as Donald Trump looks to reclaim Panama's canal.
It has been nearly 80 years since the United States expanded its territory, and there are increasing signs that President Donald Trump intends to change that. After what seemed in his first term like a lark about claiming Greenland, Trump has doubled down on that and other expansionist ideas.
China's expanding footprint in Latin America is expected to be high on the agenda when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visits Panama next week on his first overseas trip since taking office, according to observers.
President Trump wants Panama to return its namesake canal to the U.S.
Panama President José Raúl Mulino has directly addressed President Donald Trump 's controversial comments regarding the Panama Canal, reaffirming that the waterway unequivocally belongs to Panama.
US President Donald Trump's threat to seize the Panama Canal over alleged undue Chinese influence may really be aimed at limiting Beijing's growing diplomatic and economic presence in Latin America, experts say.