Secretary of State Marco Rubio leaves for his first overseas trip as the nation’s top diplomat on Saturday. Rubio’s first stop on the six-day visit is Panama as he sets out on pursuing President Donald Trump’s geopolitical agenda.
Trump used his inaugural address to proclaim his intent to ‘take back’ the Panama Canal, and in a call with reporters on Friday, Special Envoy for Latin America Mauricio Claver-Carone said Rubio’s chief purpose of the trip would be in re-establishing a ‘Golden Age’ for America.
‘This trip signifies… that era of American greatness and the Golden Age,’ he said, adding that ‘the 21st century will also be an American century.’
Claver-Carone pointed out that Rubio’s trip to Latin America is the first time a secretary of state has traveled to the region as their first official visit abroad in over 100 years.
‘Last time that happened, I believe, was in 1912, when Philander Chase Knox went to Panama… to oversee the conclusion of the Panama Canal’s construction and operations,’ he told reporters. ‘What a great message to harken back to that Golden Age of the Americas, as President Trump himself has mentioned.’
Rubio is scheduled to meet with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino.
The pair are expected to discuss migration, combating drug trafficking and China’s presence in the Panama Canal, which Rubio and Trump have argued has become overrun by Chinese companies operating at either end of the crucial waterway.
The Trump administration has argued that the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) tight grip over all Chinese companies means that, in extension, the CCP is operating out of the canal and could, in theory, close it to U.S. trade if it chose to — posing a significant security threat.
Mulino has repeatedly denied that Chinese companies have any influence over the operations of the Panama Canal, and on Thursday said he would not be negotiating ownership of the canal with Rubio.
‘It’s impossible, I can’t negotiate,’ Mulino said during a Thursday press conference when asked about negotiating control of the canal, The Associated Press reported. ‘That is done. The canal belongs to Panama.’
Mulino apparently claimed confusion over control of the canal was attributed to his predecessor, who severed ties with Taiwan and established diplomatic relations with China in 2017, eventually allowing a Hong Kong consortium to operate ports at both ends of the canal.
Panama maintains that it controls the canal.
Claver-Carone argued that Chinese companies control ‘everything from force and logistics to telecommunications, infrastructure, and otherwise,’ which he said is not only a security threat to U.S. interests in the canal, but to the national security of Panama and the Western Hemisphere.
Rubio is also slated to visit El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic, where he will meet with the presidents of each nation before returning to the U.S. on Thursday.
Addressing Chinese influence in these countries, along with gang violence, migration and drug trafficking, will also be top of Rubio’s agenda.