Marco Rubio heading to Panama on first trip as secretary of state: ‘We won’t continue to ignore the region’

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Posted on 01/23/2025 8:54:04 AM PST by SeekAndFind

Newly sworn-in Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Panama for his first international trip as the nation’s top diplomat, Fox News has learned.

Though details are still being worked out, the visit could come as early as next week.

The planned trip comes after repeated vows by President Donald Trump – who returned to the White House on Monday – to take back the Panama Canal.

Trump mentioned the Panama Canal again during his inaugural address on Monday, claiming that it was now in the hands of China and vowing to take it back.

"China is operating the Panama Canal. And we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back," Trump said.

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino responded forcefully to Trump's comments on Wednesday saying, "we reject in its 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 U.S. built the canal in the early 1900s under then President Theodore Roosevelt as it looked for ways to facilitate the transit of commercial and military vessels between its coasts. Washington relinquished control of the waterway to Panama on Dec. 31, 1999, under a treaty signed in 1977 by then President Jimmy Carter.

News of Rubio’s trip was first reported by Politico and could include other Central American countries like Guatemala and El Salvador, where Rubio is expected to address a top priority of curbing mass migration that he outlined earlier this week.

State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce tells Fox News that "Secretary Rubio is prioritizing the region because it’s where we live," adding "we won’t continue to ignore the region as other administrations have."

(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...

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1 posted on 01/23/2025 8:54:04 AM PST by SeekAndFind

To: SeekAndFind

2 posted on 01/23/2025 8:55:43 AM PST by DIRTYSECRET

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3 posted on 01/23/2025 8:56:30 AM PST by SeekAndFind

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