President Donald Trump is dispatching Secretary of State Marco Rubio this week to Central America for his first international travel as America’s top diplomat. The trip will take him to Panama, El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.
Watch the Senate’s hearing on the Panama Canal in the hearing above.
The decision to put an early focus on Central America — including nations that are central to the success of Trump’s mass deportation effort and his bid to clamp down on illegal immigration — speaks to how big a priority immigration is for Trump out of the gate.
Rubio’s stop in Panama also comes as Trump in recent weeks has said he wants the Panama Canal back under U.S. control, claiming that “American ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape or form,” and that “China is operating the Panama Canal.”
Some Panamanians have interpreted Trump’s remarks as a way of applying pressure on Panama for something else he wants: better control of migration through the Darien Gap. Others have recalled the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama with concern.
To be certain, China’s growing commercial interest in the Western Hemisphere, including its operation of a port at the canal, have long fueled U.S. concerns about Beijing’s broader role in global shipping and port operations. The Biden administration shared similar worries, but sought to counter China by rallying wealthy economies to band together against China’s trillion-dollar “Belt and Road Initiative,” which has launched a network of infrastructure projects and maritime lanes that snake around large portions of the world.
