{"id":125031,"date":"2025-02-02T20:57:34","date_gmt":"2025-02-02T20:57:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/rubio-says-panama-must-reduce-chinese-influence-around-the-canal-or-face-possible-us-action-the-associated-press\/"},"modified":"2025-02-02T20:57:34","modified_gmt":"2025-02-02T20:57:34","slug":"rubio-says-panama-must-reduce-chinese-influence-around-the-canal-or-face-possible-us-action-the-associated-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/rubio-says-panama-must-reduce-chinese-influence-around-the-canal-or-face-possible-us-action-the-associated-press\/","title":{"rendered":"Rubio says Panama must reduce Chinese influence around the canal or face possible US action – The Associated Press"},"content":{"rendered":"

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is on his first foreign trip in office, arriving in Central America on Saturday to press President Donald Trump\u2019s top priority \u2014 curbing illegal immigration \u2014 and to bring the message that the U.S. wants to reclaim control over the Panama Canal despite intense resistance from regional leaders.
Panama\u2019s President Jose Mulino, left, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrive for a meeting at the presidential palace in Panama City, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, second right, meets with Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino, left, at the presidential palace in Panama City, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
La polic\u00eda bloquea a personas que se manifiestan en contra de la visita del secretario de Estado de EEUU, Marco Rubio, en Ciudad de Panam\u00e1, el 2 de febrero de 2025. (AP Foto\/Mat\u00edas Delacroix)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, second right, meets with Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino at the presidential palace in Panama City, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
Protesters march against U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio\u2019s visit in Panama City, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo\/Matias Delacroix)
Panama\u2019s President Jose Mulino, center, and Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha, let, meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the presidential palace in Panama City, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio addresses employees and families during a meet-and-greet at the United States Embassy in Panama City Panama City, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
Police block protesters rallying against U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio\u2019s visit in Panama City, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo\/Matias Delacroix)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, right, waves after being welcomed by Panama\u2019s Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha, left, upon his arrival at the presidential palace in Panama City, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is on his first foreign trip in office, arriving in Central America on Saturday to press President Donald Trump\u2019s top priority \u2014 curbing illegal immigration \u2014 and to bring the message that the U.S. wants to reclaim control over the Panama Canal despite intense resistance from regional leaders.
Panama\u2019s President Jose Mulino, left, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrive for a meeting at the presidential palace in Panama City, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
Panama\u2019s President Jose Mulino, left, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrive for a meeting at the presidential palace in Panama City, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, second right, meets with Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino, left, at the presidential palace in Panama City, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, second right, meets with Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino, left, at the presidential palace in Panama City, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
La polic\u00eda bloquea a personas que se manifiestan en contra de la visita del secretario de Estado de EEUU, Marco Rubio, en Ciudad de Panam\u00e1, el 2 de febrero de 2025. (AP Foto\/Mat\u00edas Delacroix)
La polic\u00eda bloquea a personas que se manifiestan en contra de la visita del secretario de Estado de EEUU, Marco Rubio, en Ciudad de Panam\u00e1, el 2 de febrero de 2025. (AP Foto\/Mat\u00edas Delacroix)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, second right, meets with Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino at the presidential palace in Panama City, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, second right, meets with Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino at the presidential palace in Panama City, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
Protesters march against U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio\u2019s visit in Panama City, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo\/Matias Delacroix)
Protesters march against U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio\u2019s visit in Panama City, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo\/Matias Delacroix)
Panama\u2019s President Jose Mulino, center, and Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha, let, meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the presidential palace in Panama City, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
Panama\u2019s President Jose Mulino, center, and Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha, let, meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the presidential palace in Panama City, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio addresses employees and families during a meet-and-greet at the United States Embassy in Panama City Panama City, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio addresses employees and families during a meet-and-greet at the United States Embassy in Panama City Panama City, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
Police block protesters rallying against U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio\u2019s visit in Panama City, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo\/Matias Delacroix)
Police block protesters rallying against U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio\u2019s visit in Panama City, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo\/Matias Delacroix)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, right, waves after being welcomed by Panama\u2019s Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha, left, upon his arrival at the presidential palace in Panama City, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, right, waves after being welcomed by Panama\u2019s Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha, left, upon his arrival at the presidential palace in Panama City, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
PANAMA CITY (AP) \u2014 U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Panamanian President Jos\u00e9 Ra\u00fal Mulino on Sunday that the Central American ally must immediately reduce Chinese influence over the Panama Canal area or face potential retaliation from the Trump administration.
Rubio, on his first foreign trip as America\u2019s top diplomat, held face-to-face talks with Mulino, who has resisted pressure from the new U.S. government over Panama\u2019s management of a waterway that is vital to global trade.
Mulino told reporters after the meeting that Rubio made \u201cno real threat of retaking the canal or the use of force.\u201d
Speaking on behalf of President Donald Trump, who has demanded that the canal be returned to U.S. control, Rubio told Mulino that Trump had made a preliminary determination that China\u2019s presence in the canal area violates a treaty that led to the United States turning the waterway over to Panama in 1999. That treaty calls for the permanent neutrality of the American-built canal, which Rubio planned to tour later Sunday.
\u201cSecretary Rubio made clear that this status quo is unacceptable and that absent immediate changes, it would require the United States to take measures necessary to protect its rights under the treaty,\u201d the State Department said in a summary of the meeting.
The statement was unusually blunt in diplomatic terms, but in keeping with the tenor and tone Trump has set for foreign policy. Trump has been increasing pressure on Washington\u2019s neighbors and allies, including the canal demand and announcing Saturday that he was imposing major tariffs on Canada and Mexico. That prompted retaliation from those close allies<\/a><\/span>, launching a trade war.<\/p>\n

Mulino, meanwhile, called his talks with Rubio \u201crespectful\u201d and \u201cpositive\u201d and said he did not \u201cfeel like there\u2019s a real threat against the treaty and its validity.\u201d
He acknowledged that China\u2019s role in the ports at either end of the canal has raised concerns with Washington. But the president said the consortium controlling them was being audited and that the canal authority would give Rubio a more detailed explanation.
Mulino did say Panama would not be renewing its agreement with China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative when it expires. Panama joined the initiative, which promotes and funds infrastructure and development projects that critics say leave poor member countries heavily indebted to China, after it dropped diplomatic recognition of Taiwan and recognized Beijing.
About 200 people marched in the capital on Sunday, carrying Panamanian flags and shouting \u201cMarco Rubio out of Panama,\u201d \u201cLong live national sovereignty\u201d and \u201cOne territory, one flag\u201d while the meeting was going on. Some burned a banner with images of Trump and Rubio after being stopped short of the presidential palace by riot police.
Rubio also pressed Trump\u2019s top focus \u2014 curbing illegal immigration<\/a><\/span> \u2014 telling Panama\u2019s president that it was important to collaborate on the work and thanked him for taking back migrants. Rubio\u2019s trip, however, comes as a U.S. foreign aid funding freeze and stop-work orders have shut down U.S.-funded programs targeting illegal migration and crime in Central American countries.
In a Wall Street Journal opinion piece on Friday, Rubio said mass migration, drugs and hostile policies pursued by Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela have wreaked havoc, and port facilities at the either end of the canal are run by a China-based company, leaving the waterway vulnerable to pressure from the Beijing government.
\u201cThe president\u2019s been pretty clear he wants to administer the canal again,\u201d Rubio said Thursday. \u201cObviously, the Panamanians are not big fans of that idea. That message has been brought very clear.\u201d
Despite Mulino\u2019s rejection of any negotiation over ownership, some believe Panama may be open to a compromise under which canal operations on both sides are taken away from the Hong Kong-based Hutchison Ports company, which was given a 25-year no-bid extension to run them. An audit into the suitability of that extension is already under way and could lead to a rebidding process.
What is unclear is whether Trump would accept the transfer of the concession to an American or European company as meeting his demands, which appear to cover more than just operations.
Rubio\u2019s trip, which will also take him to El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic, comes amid a freeze in U.S. foreign assistance<\/a><\/span>. The State Department said Sunday that Rubio had approved waivers for certain critical programs in countries he is visiting but details of those were not immediately available.
Associated Press writer Ellen Knickmeyer contributed from Washington.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n

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Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.Secretary of State Marco Rubio is on his first foreign trip in office, arriving in Central America on Saturday to press President Donald Trump\u2019s top priority \u2014 curbing illegal immigration \u2014 and to bring the message that the U.S. wants to reclaim control over the Panama Canal despite […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":125032,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-125031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-us","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125031\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/125032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}