The minister will set off on his trip at the end of next week, said his spokeswoman Tammy Bruce. She did not give exact dates.
The goal of the trip is to “make sure that if we want to be safe and prosperous and in good health, we have to have an interest in our neighbors – and in today’s world that is certainly South and Central America,” said Rubio’s spokeswoman. By traveling to this region first, the US Secretary of State is showing “how seriously he takes it.”
Rubio is the first Hispanic Secretary of State in US history – and the first to speak Spanish fluently thanks to his Cuban roots. He has made Trump’s goal of drastically reducing migration from Latin America to the USA a priority.
Rubio’s spokeswoman initially did not provide any information on whether the Panama Canal would be the subject of the talks in Panama. In his inaugural speech on Monday, Trump reiterated that he wanted to “take back” the Panama Canal, which was built by the USA at the beginning of the 20th century, for his country.
Rubio did not speak of military force in connection with the Panama Canal in the Senate confirmation hearing as secretary of state, but did say that the United States must respond to serious concerns about Chinese influence in the important waterway.
The Panama Canal, built by the USA, was opened in 1914. In 1977, US President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian military leader Omar Torrijos signed an agreement to hand over the canal to the Central American country. In 1999, Panama took control of the waterway between the Atlantic and Pacific.
Since his election victory last November, Trump has repeatedly stated that the fees for US ships to transit through the canal, which is important for global trade, are too high. He also alleged that the canal, which was once built by the USA, is now actually no longer controlled by Panama, but by China. Trump did not rule out using military force to take over the canal.
Panama has complained about Trump’s threats to the United Nations. President José Raúl Mulino reiterated during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that the canal belongs to Panama “and will continue to belong to Panama.”
A central theme of Rubio’s Latin American trip is likely to be the mass migration from Latin American countries such as Guatemala and El Salvador to the USA. Trump wants to completely end illegal entry into his country.
