Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino that the Panama Canal must be rid of Chinese influence or else Panama could face retaliation from the Trump administration. Rubio made his first foreign trip as the nation’s top diplomat to Panama where he met with Mulino on Sunday.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has met Panama's president on his first stop on his trip foreign trip as President Donald Trump is upping pressure on America's neighbors including a demand for the Panama Canal to be returned to the United States.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino in talks on Sunday that President Donald Trump has determined China's influence threatens the Panama Canal and that immediate changes were needed or the U.