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The newly sworn in Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Panama for his first international trip as the country’s top diplomat, Fox News has learned.
Although details are still being finalized, the visit could take place next week.
The planned trip comes after repeated votes from President Donald Trump – who returned to the White House on Monday – to reclaim the Panama Canal.
Trump mentioned the Panama Canal again during his inaugural address on Monday, stating that it was now in the hands of China and promising to take it back.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks after being sworn in by Vice President JD Vance in the Vice Presidential Ceremonial Office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
“China is operating 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.
panamanian president José Raúl Mulino responded forcefully to Trump’s comments on Wednesday by saying, “We reject in their entirety everything that Mr. Trump has said. First, because it is false and second, because the Panama Canal belongs to Panama and will continue to belong to Panama.” . ”
The Marshall Islands cargo ship Cape Hellas (L) and the Portuguese cargo ship MSC Elma sail on 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 20th century under then-President Theodore Roosevelt as it sought ways to facilitate the transit of commercial and military vessels between its coasts. Washington ceded control of the waterway to Panama on December 31, 1999, under a treaty signed in 1977 by then-President Jimmy Carter.
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News of Rubio’s trip was first reported by Politico and could include other Central American countries such as Guatemala and El Salvador, where Rubio is expected to address one of the top priorities of curbing mass migration that he outlined earlier this week.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio takes the oath of office before Vice President JD Vance in the Vice Presidential Ceremonial Office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Washington, as his wife, Jeanette Rubio , observe. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told Fox News that “Secretary Rubio is prioritizing the region because it’s where we live,” adding that “we will not continue to ignore the region as other administrations have done.”
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He added: “Collaboration with our neighbors is a vital element in addressing migration, supply chains and economic growth, which are key to Secretary Rubio’s pursuit of a foreign policy focused on making America strong, prosperous and safe.”
Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
