Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Panama on his first trip abroad as the top U.S. diplomat after President

Rubio’s Latin American trip highlights the region’s importance to U.S. national security and immigration crisis.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio's visit to Central America comes after President Donald Trump has repeatedly promised to take the Panama Canal back.

"Engaging with our neighbors is a vital element in addressing migration, supply chains, and economic growth, which are key to Secretary Rubio's pursuit of foreign policy focused o

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio will make his first official trip abroad next week to Central America, including a stop in Panama, which President Donald Trump has riled with talk of trying to reclaim the Panama Canal.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to head to Panama soon for his first international trip as the nation’s top diplomat, Fox News has learned.

Panama will be one of the first stops for new Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he heads overseas late next week

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to visit Panama — the country whose canal President Donald Trump has suggested he’d seize — as early as next week, according to three U.S. officials briefed on the plan.

Rubio is expected to visit Panama, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic, according to the Department of State

The U.S. views the Panama Canal as a strategically critical access point into the Pacific and new Secretary of State Marco Rubio's task next week will be to navigate these waters. NBC News' Matt Bodner looks ahead for Early Today.

Newly minted Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be heading to Panama during his first trip as head of the Trump administration's State Department. President Trump, of course, has spoken at length about his desire to retake the Panama Canal,