Panama will be one of the first stops for new Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he heads overseas late next week for the first time as the United States’ top diplomat, meaning he’ll face a unique sort of challenge early in his tenure.
Panama is one of the U.S.’ closest allies in Latin America, but, since December, President Donald Trump has said he wants to take the Panama Canal back from it, arguing in social media posts and rallies, and even in his inauguration speech, that the critical waterway is under the control of China. Both China and Panama have denied any interference in the operations of the canal, which is operated as a neutral waterway.
Other stops on Rubio’s trip will include Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic, according to State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce.
“If we’re going to be safe and prosperous and in good shape, we have to have an interest in our neighbors and in today’s world, it’s certainly South and Central America,” Bruce told reporters Thursday.
“China is operating the Panama Canal,” Trump said in his inauguration speech Monday. “And we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back.”
China does not operate the Panama Canal, but its ownership of nearby ports is one of many examples of China’s investment in critical infrastructure in the Western Hemisphere that has long raised concerns among U.S. officials in both Republican and Democratic administrations. There are at least five Chinese state-owned enterprises operating along the Panama Canal. In 2023, now retired Gen. Laura Richardson, then the commander of United States Southern Command, warned that the companies could be flipped to use for military purposes.
Rubio echoed those concerns at his confirmation hearing earlier this month.
“An argument could be made that the terms under which that canal were turned over have been violated,” Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when pressed on Trump’s threats. “Because while technically, sovereignty over the canal has not been turned over to a foreign power, in reality, a foreign power today possesses, through their companies, which we know are not independent, the ability to turn the canal into a choke point in a moment of conflict, and that is a direct threat to the national interest and security of the United States.”
Rubio added that Panama is a “great partner on a lot of other issues.”
“I hope we can resolve this issue of the canal and of its security, and also continue to work with them cooperatively on a host of issues we share in common, including what to do with migration,” Rubio said.
Immigration will be an issue central to conversations throughout his upcoming trip.
In an internal memo sent on his first day in office and obtained by NBC News, Rubio said a top priority for U.S. diplomats moving forward would be “securing America’s borders, stopping illegal and destabilizing migration, and negotiating the repatriation of illegal immigrants.”
“Mass migration is among the most consequential issues of our time,” Rubio wrote in the memo. “The era of mass migration must end.”
