US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is on his first trip as America’s top diplomat

US: In his first trip as the country’s top diplomat, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will arrive in Panama on Saturday. The trip will test Rubio’s ability to expand on President Donald Trump‘s aggressive and transactional “America First” foreign policy, especially with regard to migration.

Rubio intends to further the Trump agenda by “paying closer attention to our own neighborhood” by traveling to Central America, which includes Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic.

Given the explosive altercation between Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro last Sunday, Rubio’s trip will be heavily focused on migration.

While the senior US diplomat is in Panama City, talks regarding the Panama Canal, which Trump has said should once again be under US authority, are also “a priority.”

Rubio is also anticipated to highlight regional counter-Chinese initiatives. However, some US officials and aid officials claim that his broad ban on foreign aid has harmed this endeavor as well as other objectives like combating drug trafficking and illegal migration.

Aware that the area is essential to their aggressive deportation goal, Trump officials have been developing a Latin America migration plan. The United States has been repatriating migrants from Central American nations for many years. Nonetheless, the Covid-19 epidemic contributed to record migration across the Western Hemisphere, which meant that more individuals were traveling from other nations to the southern border of the United States.

The public confrontation between Trump and Petro, which lasted less than a day, has been a major topic of discussion among Trump administration officials and provides insight into the administration’s strategy for interacting with regional partners.

Rubio said in the Wall Street Journal on Friday that “we need to work with countries of origin to halt and deter further migrant flows and to accept the return of their citizens present in the U.S. illegally.”

While some nations are eager to work with us, others are not. “The former will receive a reward,” he said. Regarding the latter, Mr. Trump has already shown that he is more than prepared to defend our interests by using America’s significant influence. Ask President Gustavo Petro of Colombia.

However, it remains unclear how the administration explicitly intends to collaborate with its Western Hemisphere counterparts.

How the Trump administration uses its strong ties with El Salvador will be one test. The United States and El Salvador are negotiating an asylum agreement that would enable the United States to transport non-El Salvadoran asylum applicants to El Salvador for safety.

Rubio is anticipated to bring up the issue when he meets with El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, and other authorities.

“It will also be a topic of discussion,” Trump special envoy for Latin America Mauricio Claver-Carone told reporters Friday, adding that El Salvador was one of three nations that had a Safe Third Agreement with the United States during the first Trump administration.

The US and El Salvador were also anticipated to talk about the potential deportation of alleged members of the Venezuelan-born Tren de Aragua gang to El Salvador, where the Trump administration has praised Bukele’s extensive and brutal anti-gang campaign.

“He is one of the most influential leaders on security and a great ally on migration because of those extraordinary measures, which are honestly the envy of many countries throughout the Western Hemisphere,” Claver-Carone said.

In order to avoid having to share a jail with Salvadorean gangs like MS-13, we are attempting to work out a new deal that may include Tren de Aragua members who would want to return to Venezuela. We want to talk about it and how President Bukele can support us,” Claver-Carone said.

Rubio will try to increase repatriation efforts in Costa Rica as well.

“A repatriation program with Costa Rica to help with not only those coming up from South America but also those coming from throughout the world, extra-continentals that are coming through and how they can help repatriate in that manner” will be one of the topics of discussion, according to Claver-Carone.

The reduction of migratory flow also depends on Panama. The Darien Gap, a perilous rainforest that links South and Central America, is located in the nation. There, crossings have functioned as a gauge of the potential number of migrants traveling to the southern border of the United States. There are many fewer people walking through the tunnel now.

According to the Panamanian National Migration Service, the number of migrants who crossed the country during the first 23 days of January 2025 was 93% less than during the same time the year before.

Under former President Joe Biden, the United States and Panama reached a deal last year to combat the migrant flow via the Darien Gap, which includes logistical assistance, transportation, and equipment. Meetings between Rubio and Panamanian officials, including President José Raúl Mulino, are anticipated to touch on the passage, which is still a top goal for the Trump administration.

“The discussion will undoubtedly center on our highly effective repatriation program with Panama, which, to be honest, ought to be extended,” Claver-Carone said on Friday.

He said that the Panama Canal issue is “a priority to be discussed.” Rubio will “visit with the Panama Canal administrator” and have a tour of the canal.

Mulino has declared repeatedly that Panama’s sovereignty over the canal is not up for question, which has already prompted diplomatic agitation in response to Trump’s persistent, publicly expressed desire for the US to regain control of the vital waterway.

“This topic is not being discussed. A few days before his planned meeting with Rubio, Mulino stressed on Thursday that “the soul of a country is not up for discussion.”

Because Panama Ports, a division of the Hong Kong-based corporation CK Hutchison Holdings, has terminals on both the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the canal, officials, including Rubio, have said it is a question of national security and deterring Beijing.

In an interview with Megyn Kelly on Thursday, Rubio said, “It’s a technicality, but in reality, if China wanted to obstruct traffic in the Panama Canal, they could.”

“Any foreign force, especially China, cannot be allowed to have the type of potential influence over it that they possess. That just cannot go on,” he said.

It is anticipated that during his regional tours, the topic of opposing China would be discussed. According to the Americas Society/Council of the Americas, trade between China and Latin American nations has increased dramatically, from $10 billion in 2000 to $450 billion in 2022.

Claver-Carone said, “We look forward to expanding with Guatemala the discussions on how they can continue to support us on migration and obviously countering Chinese influence throughout the region.” While other nations, such as El Salvador, have not maintained diplomatic connections with Taiwan, Guatemala has.

Some US officials and humanitarian organizations say that Trump’s actions, such as the block on foreign assistance, are causing the US to lose influence in South and Central America to China, leaving a void that Beijing would be pleased to fill.

The abrupt and widespread halt in foreign aid has affected several initiatives in the area. Among these initiatives is the fight against drugs, which is reportedly a top concern for Rubio when he travels to the Dominican Republic.