U.S. Secretary of State Marco Mr. Rubio told Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino on Sunday that the Central American ally must immediately reduce Chinese influence over the Panama Canal area or face potential retaliation from the Trump administration. Mr. Mulino said later that “there is no real threat of retaking the canal or the use of force.”
Mr. Rubio, on his first foreign trip as America’s top diplomat, held face-to-face talks with Mr. Mulino, who has resisted pressure from the new U.S. government over Panama’s management of the waterway that is vital to global trade.
Speaking on behalf of President Donald Trump, who has demanded that the canal be returned to U.S. control, Mr. Rubio told Mr. Mulino that Mr. Trump had made a preliminary determination that China’s presence in the canal area violates a treaty that led to the United States turning the waterway over to Panama in 1999. That treaty calls for the permanent neutrality of the American-built canal.
“Secretary Mr. Rubio made clear that this status quo is unacceptable and that absent immediate changes, it would require the United States to take measures necessary to protect its rights under the treaty,” the State Department said in a summary of the meeting.
“I don’t feel like there’s a real threat against the treaty and its validity,” Mr. Mulino said.
The warning from Mr. Rubio comes as Mr. Trump has increased pressure on Washington’s neighbors and allies, including the canal demand. On Saturday, Trump announced he was imposing major tariffs on Canada and Mexico, prompting retaliation from those countries.
Mr. Mulino called it a “good-faith meeting” that was “respectful” and “positive” and held ”to clear up doubts.” He acknowledged that China’s role in the ports at either end of the canal has raised concerns with Washington. But the president said the consortium controlling them was being audited and that the canal authority would give Mr. Rubio a more detailed explanation.
Mr. Mulino did say Panama would not be renewing its agreement with China’s Belt and Road Initiative when it expires.
About 200 people marched in Panama City, carrying Panamanian flags and shouting “Marco Rubio out of Panama,” “Long live national sovereignty” and “One territory, one flag” while the meeting was going on. Some burned a banner with images of Mr. Trump and Mr. Rubio after being stopped short of the presidential palace by riot police.
Mr. Rubio later planned to tour the canal.
Mr. Mulino said he hoped Mr. Rubio’s visit would focus on shared interests such as migration and combating drug trafficking. Rubio’s trip, however, comes as a U.S. foreign aid funding freeze and stop-work orders have shut down U.S.-funded programs targeting illegal migration and crime in Central American countries.
Mr. Rubio also pressed Mr. Trump’s top focus — curbing illegal immigration — telling Panama’s president that it was important to collaborate and thanked him for taking back migrants.
In a Wall Street Journal opinion piece on Friday, Mr. Rubio said mass migration, drugs and hostile policies pursued by Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela have wreaked havoc, and port facilities at the either end of the canal are run by a China-based company, leaving the waterway vulnerable to pressure from the Beijing government.
“We’re going to address that topic,” Mr. Rubio said a day earlier. “The president’s been pretty clear he wants to administer the canal again. Obviously, the Panamanians are not big fans of that idea. That message has been brought very clear.”
The American-built canal was turned over to the Panamanians in 1999 and they object strongly to Mr. Trump’s demand to hand it back.
Despite Mr. Mulino’s rejection of any negotiation over ownership, some believe Panama may be open to a compromise under which canal operations on both sides are taken away from the Hong Kong-based Hutchison Ports company, which was given a 25-year no-bid extension to run them. An audit into the suitability of that extension is already under way and could lead to a rebidding process.
What is unclear is whether Mr. Trump would accept the transfer of the concession to an American or European company as meeting his demands, which appear to cover more than just operations.
Mr. Rubio’s trip, which will also take him to El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic, comes amid a freeze in U.S. foreign assistance. The State Department said Sunday that Mr. Rubio had approved waivers for certain critical programs in countries he is visiting but details of those were not immediately available.
This story was reported by The Associated Press.
Associated Press writers Juan Zamorano and Ellen Knickmeyer contributed to this report.
