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.

President Trump is reportedly dispatching his newly confirmed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Panama for his first foreign trip. Here's what's at stake.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says President Donald Trump’s desire to acquire Greenland and retake control of the Panama Canal is driven by legitimate national security interests stemming from growing concerns about Chinese activity in the Arctic and in Latin America.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday he had "zero doubt" that China has a contingency plan to shut down the Panama Canal in the event of a conflict with the U.S. and that Washington intends to address what it sees as a national security threat.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), the chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, discussed a scenario in which China could disrupt U.S. trade by blocking off the canal.

While repeating Trump’s lies about Panama, Senate leaders from both parties provide fraudulent justifications for a military intervention against the impoverished Central American country.

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators on Tuesday expressed alarm at China's influence on the Panama Canal, which President Donald Trump has vowed the United States would take back.

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.

"Our job—where we can'is to provide Latin America with a choice," a U.K. government minister said on Thursday.

Three of President Donald Trump’s cabinet picks prepared for skepticism and intense grilling from Democratic senators during their confirmation hearings Thursday. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will have the second of two confirmation hearings for his Health and Human Services Secretary nomination,

Traditionally, when US secretaries of state make their international debuts, they travel to major US allies and offer bromides about working together. Arevalo -- whose country is a major source of migrants -- has been quick to cooperate with Trump,