The U.S. Secretary of State followed the extraordinary threat of President Donald Trump to capture the Panama Canal.
U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, stopped at our allies, Panama, who had been shaken by President Donald Trump’s extraordinary threat to deprive Panama, to his first official foreign trip. It started.
Rubio, who started touring five countries in the area, will visit Panama’s strategic waterway on Sunday and meet President Jose Raul Mulino.
“It’s not a coincidence that my first overseas travel as a secretary of State will keep me in the hemisphere,” he wrote on the Wall Street Journal column on Friday.
The canal is an important link between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and the coast, passing 40 % of US containers traffic.
Trump refused to eliminate the military power to seize the Panama Canal, which was handed over by the United States, and said that China had too many control through investment in the surrounding ports.
In his inauguration speech last month, Trump said that the United States refused to “regain it” and refused to retreat on Friday. “They have already offered a lot of things,” said Trump, “But we think it’s appropriate to regain it.”
He argued that Panama had defeated Chinese signs to hide the canal’s “completely violating the agreement”. “Marco Rubio is going to talk to the gentleman in charge,” Trump told reporters.
Rubio’s mission is brought shortly after the tariffs imposed by Canada, Mexico, and Chinese Trump, and almost all the freezing of foreign foreign aids in the United States acts much more aggressive foreign policy.
“The canal belongs to Panama”
Panama’s President Murino excluded negotiations with the United States over the ownership of the canal. He stated that Rubio’s visit wanted to focus on common interests such as migration and fighting drug trafficking.
“It’s impossible, I can’t negotiate,” said Murino on Thursday. “The canal belongs to Panama.”
But Rubio said he would clarify Trump’s intentions. In an interview with Siriusxm host Megyn Kelly, he stated that Trump’s desire is promoted by legitimate national security benefits due to rising concerns about China’s activities and influence in Latin America. Ta.
“We are going to work on the topic,” said Rubio. “The president is quite clear that he wants to administer the canal again. Obviously, the Panama is not a big fan of that idea. The message is very clear.”
Despite Mulino refusing to negotiate, Panama believes that Panama may have been held on both sides for compromising from Hatison Port, a headquartered Hong Kong.
What is unknown is that whether Trump will accept the transfer of concessions to American or European companies to meet his demands, it seems to cover more than just strategy.
“In a sense, Trump is pushing open doors,” said Ryanberg, a director of the American continent program, a strategy and international research center, which is a Washington DC -based think tank. “But it depends on how his red line is defined.”
“There are a lot of heavy rhetorics, and it will be Rubio to clarify it,” he said.
