Secretary of State Marco Rubio embarks soon on his inaugural trip as the United States’ top diplomat. His first stop, Panama could prove to be the most contentious on the itinerary.

Critics say the new administration's harsh stance on the region risks opening the door for rivals like China to increase their presence there.

Panama City is hosting what organisers touted as the region's answer to Davos, as political and business leaders gather to tackle Latin America's persistent economic challenges amid growing concerns over rising poverty and middle-class stagnation.

When Marco Rubio arrives in Latin America this weekend on his first foreign trip as Donald Trump's secretary of state, he'll find a region reeling from the new administration's shock-and-awe approach to diplomacy.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be pushing Donald Trump's hardline immigration agenda and addressing the US president's claim to "take back" the Panama Canal when he tours Latin American

Rubio said he could not predict if Trump would succeed in buying Greenland from Denmark or restoring American authority over the Panama Canal while he is in office.

Panama has owned and administered the Panama Canal for nearly three decades. President Trump wants to change that to counter growing Chinese influence in Latin America.

Rift between US and Colombia, threats of tariffs on Mexico, designs on Panama Canal and mass deportations could encourage closer ties with Beijing

It has always surprised me,” wrote the 20th-century Mexican poet and diplomat Octavio Paz, “that in a world of relations as hard as that of the

Trump has defiled the key thing that distinguished America from Latin America — our expectation of constitutional lawfulness.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio asserts that President Trump’s interest in acquiring Greenland and reasserting control over the Panama Canal stems from legitimate national security threats posed by China’s growing influence in these strategic areas.