Senators on both sides of the aisle raised concerns over how Chinese aggression and influence on the Panama Canal could have major implications on U.S. trade and national security during a hearing in a key Senate committee on Tuesday morning.

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,

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

The new administration's immigration crackdown is likely to be among the top issues during talks, but US President Donald Trump's claim that the Central American nation had ceded control of the Panama Canal to China will also loom large.

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

“China controls the Panama Canal. What's that all about ... the president of El Salvador. Both Guatemala and El Salvador are key transit countries for migrants making their way north to the ...

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.

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

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

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to visit Panama — the country whose canal President Donald Trump has suggested he’d seize — as early as next week, according to three U.S. officials briefed on the plan.

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.

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.”