Newly appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be visiting Panama on his first overseas trip as the nation’s top diplomat, Fox News has learned.
Details are still being worked out, but the visit could take place as early as next week.
The trip was planned after President Donald Trump, who returned to the White House on Monday, repeatedly vowed to take back the Panama Canal.
President Trump again mentioned the Panama Canal in his inaugural address on Monday, claiming it was now in Chinese hands and vowing to take it back.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks after being sworn in by Vice President J.D. Vance in the Vice Presidential Ceremony Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus on Tuesday, January 21, 2025 in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
“China runs the Panama Canal, and we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama, and we’re going to take it back,” Trump said.
Panama’s President José Raul Mulino strongly reacted to Trump’s comments on Wednesday, saying, “We categorically deny what Mr. Trump said. First, because it is false, and second, because the Panama Canal belongs to Panama and will always belong to Panama.” Panama. ”
Marshall Islands cargo ship Cape Hellas (L) and Portuguese cargo ship MSC Elma sailing through Gatun Lake near the Agua Clara Locks of the Panama Canal in Colon City, Panama, December 28, 2024. (ARNULFO FRANCO/AFP via Getty Images)
The United States built the canal in the early 1900s under then-President Theodore Roosevelt, looking for a way to ease the passage of commercial and military ships between coasts. Under a treaty signed by then-President Jimmy Carter in 1977, Washington relinquished control of the waterway to Panama on December 31, 1999.
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News of Rubio’s trip, first reported by Politico, could also include other Central American countries such as Guatemala and El Salvador, which Rubio said was his top priority of curbing mass immigration, which he outlined earlier this week. It is expected that the issue will be addressed.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is sworn in by Vice President J.D. Vance as his wife Janet Rubio looks on, Tuesday, January 21, 2025, in the Vice Presidential Ceremony Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington. do. . (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
“Secretary Rubio is prioritizing this region because this is where we live,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told Fox News. We have no intention of continuing to ignore this,” he added.
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“Engagement with our neighbors is a critical component in addressing immigration, supply chains, and economic growth, and Secretary Rubio will pursue a foreign policy focused on making America strong, prosperous, and secure. “That’s the key,” he added.
Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Bradford Betts is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital, covering crime, politics and more.
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