Panama will be one of the first stops for new Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he heads overseas late next week

Secretary of State Marco Rubio's visit to Central America comes after President Donald Trump has repeatedly promised to take the Panama Canal back.

Marco Rubio will travel to Panama on his first trip abroad as secretary of State. The visit comes as Donald Trump looks to reclaim Panama's canal.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will likely travel to Central America in the first week of February, a source familiar with the planning said.

With Donald Trump threatening to “take back” the Panama Canal from China, Nicaragua has changed its constitution to let the regime of Daniel Ortega grant a concession to a company or consortium to build an interoceanic canal,

China's expanding footprint in Latin America is expected to be high on the agenda when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visits Panama next week on his first overseas trip since taking office, according to observers.

The new Secretary of State already has said the Hong Kong-based operator of Panama Canal-adjacent ports could be a “big national security and defense problem.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Panama on his first trip abroad as the top U.S. diplomat after President

The visit follows controversial remarks by President Donald Trump last month claiming that "wonderful soldiers of China" were operating the Panama Canal "lovingly but illegally." Trump also threatened that the US would "retake" the key canal, which it originally built in the early 20th century.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is traveling to Panama late next week in his first official diplomatic trip late, amid heightened tensions over President Trump’s threats to retake the Panama

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is preparing to travel to Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala and other Central ... retake operational control of the Panama Canal. His stops in other Central American ...

Marco Rubio plans his first foreign tour as Secretary of State, focusing on migration and the Panama Canal amid U.S.-Panama tensions.