The U.S. and Panama are apprehensive about China's presence around the Panama Canal, citing national security concerns. The issue will be a focus during U.S. top diplomat Marco Rubio's visit, where he will meet Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino and discuss regional migration issues.

Panama’s president Jose Raul Mulino on Thursday ruled out negotiations with the United States over ownership of the Panama Canal as he prepares to host Donald Trump’s secretary of state Marco Rubio.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit the Panama Canal amid President Trump's control threat. Rubio begins his first foreign tour, visiting Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic,

On Monday, representatives of left-wing organizations in the Dominican Republic strongly opposed the upcoming visit of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, declaring him “persona non grata.” They criticized the visit as an effort to deepen the country’s dependence on the United States in economic,

A key focus of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to Central America this week — his first trip as America’s top diplomat — will be to counter China’s growing influence in the region, the State Department’s top spokesperson said this week,

Panama President José Raúl Mulino has a message for Secretary of State Marco Rubio ahead of his impending diplomatic visit: The Panama Canal is not up for discussion. “It’s impossible,” Munilo said in Spanish at a press conference in Panama City on Thursday.

China's presence around the Panama Canal is a national security concern that Panama's government has to deal with, Mauricio Claver-Carone, the U.S

Rubio will visit the canal and meet Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino, the first talks between the countries since U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to take control of the canal

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), the chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, discussed a scenario in which China could disrupt U.S. trade by blocking off the canal.

The new Secretary of State already has said the Hong Kong-based operator of Panama Canal-adjacent ports could be a “big national security and defense problem.”

A cargo ship is towed at the Panama Canal's Agua Clara locks on Gatun Lake in Colon, Panama, on Jan. 29, 2025. On the eve of a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino ruled out any negotiations with the U.S. over the canal.