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.”

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

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.

Calif., reacts to President Donald Trump's message about the Panama Canal, Sec. of State Marco Rubio's intended visit to the canal and ending the war in Ukraine.

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

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio will make his first official trip abroad next week to Central America, including a stop in Panama, which President Donald Trump has riled with talk of trying to reclaim the Panama Canal.

Tensions between the U.S. and China have been rising for some time now, and Rubio's appointment has widely been seen as a sign that Trump plans to maintain a hard line on China during his second term. One of the most outspoken China hawks in Washington, Rubio has introduced several bills targeting the Chinese Communist Party.

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.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is heading to Central America on Monday in what is his first oversees trip since being confirmed as the top U.S. diplomat.

President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard arrives for a service at St. John's Church on Inauguration Day of Donald Trump's second presidential term in Washington, Jan. 20, 2025.

The new U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's first foreign trip this week is to Panama, a country that — like Canada and Greenland — has found itself in the crosshairs of U.S. President Donald Trump.