Marco Rubio plans his first trip to the Central American country for the end of January. It will also make stops in Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and El Salvador.
The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubiowill visit Panama on his first foreign trip in office, a source told Reuters on Thursday, as President Donald Trump tries to USA recover the Canal of the Central American country.
Rubio is expected to depart on January 31 and travel during the first week of February, with stops in Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and El Salvador. Trip planning is ongoing and the itinerary is subject to change.
Trump on Panama
The Republican accused Panama of failing to fulfill the promises it made for the definitive transfer of the strategic waterway in 1999 and of ceding its exploitation to Chinawhich the Panamanian government flatly denied.
“We didn’t give it to China. We gave it to Panama and we are getting it back,” Trump said in his inauguration speech on Monday.
President José Raúl Mulino responded in X on Monday that the Panama Canal “is and will continue to be Panamanian“. The canal is an 82-kilometer navigable waterway that connects the Pacific and Atlantic oceans through Panama and is essential for the US imports of automobiles and commercial goods on container ships from Asiaand for US exports of commodities, including liquefied natural gas.
The United States largely built the canal and administered the territory around it for decades. The United States and Panama signed agreements in 1977 that paved the way for the canal to be fully returned to Panamanian control, and Washington handed it over in 1999 after a period of joint administration.
Panama expressed its concern to the UN about Donald Trump’s threat to “recover” the Canal
During his presidential inauguration speech, Donald Trump assured that he intended to “recover” the Panama Canal and this threat generated strong concern among the locals of the Central American country.. Given this possible scenario, the Panamanian government sent a letter to the UN where he rejected the statements of the new president and recalled that the nations that make up the organization must “refrain from resorting to the threat or use of force” against the “territorial integrity” of any State.
The document was addressed to the secretary general of the UN, António Guterresand signed by the Panamanian ambassador to the UN, Eloy Alfaro. The objective of the note is to “convey” the rejection of the president of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, in the face of Trump’s threats during his inauguration speech, who announced that the US will “recover” the important waterway by arguing that China was operating on the canal.
Source: Ambito
