During his first overseas trip, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino on Sunday. The Trump administration is seeking control of the Panama Canal.
Rubio, the first Latino secretary of state, made the trip in part to reiterate President Trump’s concern that China wields too much power over the Panama Canal and requires control of the waterway for economic security, though Mulino has denied this claim.
Rubio toured the canal on Sunday and reiterated the administration’s commitment to making immediate changes, according to Tammy Bruce, his office spokesperson.
“Secretary Rubio also emphasized the importance of collaborative efforts to end the hemisphere’s illegal migration crisis and thanked President Mulino for his support of a joint repatriation program, which has reduced illegal migration through the Darien Gap,” according to a press release.
Speaking at the US embassy, the secretary of state emphasized the importance of Panama to the US and thanked all of the embassy staff.
The Panama Canal serves as a link between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Although the United States led the construction of the major waterway that now transports approximately 40% of the world’s cargo ships, Panama took control of it in 1999.
In the meeting, Rubio informed the Panamanian leader that President Trump has determined that China’s influence on the Panama Canal is “a threat to the canal and represents a violation of the Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal,” according to a spokesperson.
Meanwhile, President Trump signed an executive order on Saturday imposing 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, following months of threats to do so as he seeks to use trade policy against some of the United States’ most important economic allies.
In a social media post on Sunday, Mr. Trump acknowledged that the tariffs may cause “some pain”. However, he insisted that “it will all be worth the price that must be paid.”
Tariffs are intended in part to reduce the flow of undocumented immigrants and illicit drugs into the United States. And Rubio’s first overseas visit to Central America and the Caribbean, with Panama as the first stop, comes as the Trump administration seeks cooperation on immigration policy from neighboring countries such as Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic.
Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, criticized the president’s move on Sunday, saying in an appearance on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that the tariffs are “going to end up costing consumers,” with higher prices on everything from avocados and beer to cars and trucks.
“Remember, Donald Trump got hired trying to lower, saying he was going to lower grocery prices,” Warner reminded me. “Two weeks in, he’s doing something that’s going to do the absolute opposite.”
