Rubio says Panama must reduce Chinese influence around the canal or face possible US action

By MATTHEW LEE and JUAN ZAMORANO, Associated Press

PANAMA CITY (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio brought a informing to Panamanian person José Raúl Mulino connected Sunday: Immediately trim what President Donald Trump says is Chinese influence implicit the Panama Canal country oregon look imaginable retaliation from the United States.

Rubio, traveling to the Central American state and touring the Panama Canal connected his archetypal overseas travel arsenic apical U.S. diplomat, held face-to-face talks with Mulino, who has resisted pressure from the caller U.S. authorities implicit absorption of a waterway that is captious to planetary trade.

Mulino told reporters aft the gathering that Rubio made “no existent menace of retaking the canal oregon the usage of force.”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, 2nd right, meets with Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino astatine the statesmanlike palace successful Panama City, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

Speaking connected behalf of Trump, who has demanded that the canal beryllium returned to U.S. control, Rubio told Mulino that Trump believed that China’s beingness successful the canal country whitethorn interruption a pact that led the United States to crook the waterway implicit to Panama successful 1999. That pact calls for the imperishable neutrality of the American-built canal.

“Secretary Rubio made wide that this presumption quo is unacceptable and that absent contiguous changes, it would necessitate the United States to instrumentality measures indispensable to support its rights nether the treaty,” the State Department said successful a summary of the meeting.

The connection was unusually blunt successful diplomatic terms, but successful keeping with the tenor and code Trump has acceptable for overseas policy. Trump has been expanding unit connected Washington’s neighbors and allies, including the canal request and announcing Saturday that helium was imposing large tariffs connected Canada and Mexico. That launched a commercialized warfare by prompting retaliation from those adjacent allies.

Mulino, meanwhile, called his talks with Rubio “respectful” and “positive” and said helium did not “feel similar there’s a existent menace against the pact and its validity.”

The president did accidental Panama would not beryllium renewing its statement with China’s Belt and Road Initiative erstwhile it expires. Panama joined the initiative, which promotes and funds infrastructure and improvement projects that critics accidental permission mediocre subordinate countries heavy indebted to China, aft dropping diplomatic designation of Taiwan and recognizing Beijing.

Rubio aboriginal toured the canal astatine sunset with its administrator, Ricaurte Vásquez, who has said the waterway volition stay successful Panama’s hands and unfastened to each countries. Rubio crossed the fastener and visited the power tower, looking down implicit the h2o below, wherever a reddish tanker was passing through.

Earlier, astir 200 radical marched successful the capital, carrying Panamanian flags and shouting “Marco Rubio retired of Panama,” “Long unrecorded nationalist sovereignty” and “One territory, 1 flag” portion the gathering was going on. Some burned a banner with images of Trump and Rubio aft being stopped abbreviated of the statesmanlike palace by riot police.

Rubio besides pressed Trump’s apical absorption — curbing amerciable immigration — telling Panama’s president that it was important to collaborate connected the enactment and thanked him for taking backmost migrants. Rubio’s trip, however, comes arsenic a U.S. overseas assistance backing frost and stop-work orders person unopen down U.S.-funded programs targeting amerciable migration and transgression successful Central American countries.

In a Sunday evening station connected X, formerly Twitter, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he’s heading to the U.S.-Mexico borderline Monday to sojourn troops deployed arsenic portion of Trump’s migration crackdown.

In a Wall Street Journal sentiment portion connected Friday, Rubio said wide migration, drugs and hostile policies pursued by Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela person wreaked havoc, and larboard facilities astatine either extremity of the canal are tally by a China-based company, leaving the waterway susceptible to unit from the Beijing government.

“The president’s been beauteous wide helium wants to administer the canal again,” Rubio said Thursday. “Obviously, the Panamanians are not large fans of that idea. That connection has been brought precise clear.”

Despite Mulino’s rejection of immoderate dialog implicit ownership, immoderate judge Panama whitethorn beryllium unfastened to a compromise nether which canal operations connected some sides are taken distant from the Hong Kong-based Hutchison Ports company, which was fixed a 25-year no-bid hold to tally them. An audit into the suitability of that hold is already underway and could pb to a rebidding process.

What is unclear is whether Trump would judge the transportation of the concession to an American oregon European institution arsenic gathering his demands, which look to screen much than conscionable operations.

Rubio’s trip, which volition besides instrumentality him to El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic, comes amid a freeze successful U.S. overseas assistance. The State Department said Sunday that Rubio had approved waivers for definite captious programs successful countries helium is visiting but details of those were not instantly available.

Associated Press writer Ellen Knickmeyer contributed from Washington.