Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks after being sworn in on January 21, 2025 in Washington, DC
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Evan VUCCI / AP
Secretary of State Marco Rubio left for his First international trip. Rubio should visit El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama and the Dominican Republic.
His trip occurs while President Trump sparked two major diplomatic spots in the region. By first suggesting that the United States should take over the Panama canal, then launching a brief trade war with Colombia on immigration.
Here are three things to know about the first foreign trip of secretary Rubio
Latin America has rarely been at the center
It is rare that an American secretary of state begins his travels by going to Latin America. In 2001, Colin Powell, opened his mandate by going to Mexico To support President George W. Bush for a meeting with the Mexican president. It was a day trip and Powell quickly passed in the Middle East.
To find a secretary of state who began his mandate with a swirling tour in Latin America as Rubio does, You should look back a century In 1912, Philander Chase Knox went to Panama and then spent a month traveling Latin America – from Nicaragua to Venezuela.
“It’s a really interesting moment for us relationships with Latin America”, ” said Benjamin Gedan, from Wilson Center in preview. “The threats of prices against Mexico, threats of prices against Colombia have all raised questions about the nature of inter -American relations in the next four years, and we will obtain important signals of what Secretary Rubio says publicly and in private. “
A demonstrator burns an American flag to protest against the next visit of the American secretary of state Marco Rubio to Panama City, Friday January 31, 2025
Matias Delacroix / AP
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Matias Delacroix / AP
This trip concerns Latin America, but really China
Addressing journalists, Rubio paused on President Trump’s threats to take over the Panama Canal.
“It is not a joke,” said Rubio, adding that he feared that Chinese companies now control the main ports at the entrance and exit of the channel. Rubio said that in the event of a conflict, Chinese companies may have “the ability to transform the channel into a strangulation point”.
Leland Lazarus, who studies the role of China in Latin America at the Florida International University, says that Rubio will have work to do, because for some countries in Latin America, China has become a major trading partner. Indeed, China is now Trade partner No. 1 for South America.
“I think he must provide real alternatives and not only tell countries that China is bad,” Lazarus told NPR. “You cannot do business with China, because it is simply not possible for many countries in the region.”
As Cubano-American, Rubio represents a first, but it is online with a traditional American foreign policy
Rubio is the first Latin Secretary of State. He concentrated a large part of his attention as a senator in Latin America, which is rare for a secretary of state. But Alexander Aviña, who teaches Latin American history on Arizona State University, says that his opinions are also very conforming to those who preceded him.
“In terms of politics, there will be more continuity than change,” Aviña said at NPR.
For example, Rubio is realized against authoritarianism and socialism with regard to Cuba and Venezuela, but his first trip abroad will include a judgment for El Salvador, where President Nayib Bukele has become an increasing authoritarian figure in America Latin.
That, says Aviña, complies with one of the central contradictions of American foreign policy in Latin America.
“You can target certain countries as a kind of practical enemies,” he said. “But then you must also work with annoying allies to help project and maintain the United States of power or geopolitical influence in the region.”
