WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Panama on his first trip abroad as America’s chief diplomat.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Thursday that Rubio will also make stops in Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic on the trip that begins late next week.
The visit to Panama comes as President Donald Trump has railed against the South American country for weeks, calling for the United States to reclaim the Panama Canal. He suggested in his inauguration address on Monday that retaking the waterway would be an administration priority.
“We have been treated very badly from this foolish gift that should have never been made, and Panama’s promise to us has been broken,” Trump said in the Capitol rotunda. “The purpose of our deal and the spirit of our treaty has been totally violated.”
Later on Monday, as he signed a flurry of executive orders, Trump again brought up the canal, which he incorrectly claimed that China controls.
“China controls the Panama Canal. What’s that all about? When Jimmy Carter gave it, which was a terrible mistake, a terrible mistake, he didn’t give it to China, he gave it to Panama,” Trump said.
The U.S. agreed to turn over the canal to Panama during former President Jimmy Carter’s administration. It has been under Panamanian control since 1999.
Chinese shipping companies operate in the canal, which has prompted U.S. economic and national security concerns.
At his confirmation hearing for secretary of state last week, Rubio said that agita about Chinese influence over the canal are legitimate. He suggested at the hearing that the U.S. could try to reclaim the waterway by arguing that Panama violated the treaty that gave it full ownership.
“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 interests and the national security of the United States,” Rubio said.
Trump has repeatedly pushed the issue in speeches and on social media. At a news conference in early January, while he was still president-elect, Trump refused to rule out taking the canal by force.
Politico first reported on Rubio’s trip, which will include stops in countries the administration plans to tap for help with illegal migration at the United States’ southern border.
Trump is expected to speak on Thursday with Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador.
Both Guatemala and El Salvador are key transit countries for migrants making their way north to the U.S. border. They and Honduras make up the so-called Northern Triangle countries that are among the top senders of migrants to the U.S.
Mass deportations were a cornerstone of Trump’s reelection bid, but the United States needs agreements in place for countries to accept deportation flights of their own citizens. Trump has suggested he will pressure cooperative countries in the region to take foreign nationals, as well.
Guatemala and El Salvador have been two of the top five removal flight destinations, according to Witness at the Border, a volunteer organization that tracks U.S. deportation flights worldwide.
Contributing: Lauren Villagran
