Rubio to Take up Trump’s Panama Gambit, Migration Crusade in Latam Visit

WASHINGTON, Jan 30 (Reuters) – 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.

In the first days of Trump’s second term, the new president has doubled down on his intention to reclaim the Panama Canal, angered Brazilians by returning migrants in shackles and briefly imposed crushing sanctions and tariffs on Colombia in a tussle over deportee flights.

Rubio’s first stop will be Panama City as the Trump administration shifts back Washington’s focus to Latin America, aiming to counter the already extensive Chinese influence in the region and stem migration.

The first Latino secretary of state, Rubio has already indicated that the State Department will be instrumental in helping Trump achieve his policy to “curb mass migration” and the topic will be front and center as he continues on to El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic.

The Trump administration has stepped up deportations, sending migrants in military aircraft to Latin American countries, including Guatemala. The flights sparked a brief spat with Colombia on Sunday after President Gustavo Petro refused to allow two military planes to land, before later agreeing to send Colombian planes to bring back deportees.

Kevin Whitaker, a former U.S. ambassador to Colombia, said Trump’s immediate imposition of tariffs as well as rarely used sanctions and visa restrictions against Colombia,…