Rubio to Visit Panama Amid Rising Tensions Over Canal

The new secretary of state’s first official visit to Central America will include discussions on mass migration.

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Rubio to Visit Panama Amid Rising Tensions Over Canal — Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the State Department in Washington on Jan. 21, 2025. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

Darlene McCormick Sanchez

Senior Reporter

1/23/2025|Updated: 1/26/2025

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to make his first trip abroad next week, which will include a stop in Panama amid rising tensions over President Donald Trump’s vow to take back the Panama Canal.

“China is operating the Panama Canal. And we didn’t give it to China. We gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back,” Trump said during his inaugural speech.

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Darlene McCormick Sanchez

Senior Reporter

Darlene McCormick Sanchez is an Epoch Times reporter who covers border security and immigration, election integrity, and Texas politics. Ms. McCormick Sanchez has 20 years of experience in media and has worked for outlets including Waco Tribune Herald, Tampa Tribune, and Waterbury Republican-American. She was a finalist for a Pulitzer prize for investigative reporting.

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